True Shinobi: Rebirth
by LightSeeker67
Summary: Some believe death is the end, but it is the start of something new. They were given another chance to do things right, only this time they were stripped of all power. Starting from scratch, two people set out to ensure Naruto's life is filled with love and that he becomes a True Shinobi, but will he become a Mystic-Knight or will history repeat and turn him into a Shadow-Warrior?
1. The Day Legends Die

LS67: Welcome my fans to the first edition of True Shinobi: Afterbirth! For all those wondering, yes I will continue to work on True Shinobi. I've just realized how big of a mess it is and instead of just giving up on it, I've decided to do an AU of an AU so to speak. In this AU Amira and Apollo are not Multi-Dimensional beings, they are humans. They still remember their times as Multi-Dimensional beings and their time with Naruto and the others, they just live different lives. Their back stories will be explained throughout the story, so sit back and enjoy!

* * *

"..." Speech

... Narration

_"..."_ _Thoughts_

True Shinobi: Afterbirth

Act I: The Birth of a Hero

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Chapter 1: The Day Legends Die

In a cozy home inside the greatest Hidden village of the Five Shinobi Nations, Konohagakure, Namikaze Minato, Namikaze-Uzumaki Kushina, Sarutobi Hiruzen and his wife Sarutobi Biwako discuss a matter of grave importance. The matter involves Kushina's pregnancy and the seal keeping the infamous Kyuubi no Yoko at bay.

"I'll be there for the birth... We have to take care of the seal and everything. I'll get everything prepared beforehand." Minato insures with a warm smile. The Sandaime takes a puff of his pipe and gets comfy in his seat, "This is what we did for your predecessor, Mito-sama, as well. The seal nearly failed when she gave birth." it was truly a terrifying experience that the old war veteran would never forget. No battle he's ever fought in came close to the level of sheer terror that night brought him and all gathered. The waves of raw chakra, the outline of a nearly freed Kyuubi roaring and unleashing shockwaves of power, and the intensity of its glare haunted him to the day. He shudders just recalling the memory; all precaution had to be made.

"I'm afraid we'll need to prepare for the worse... We'll set a place up outside the village and erect a barrier to protect it. Only Minato, my wife Biwako and Taji from the Anbu will be inside. This must be kept top-secret to insure we don't have any complications." Hiruzen explains. Upon seeing the look of worry cross Kushina's face, "Of course there will be reinforcements on the outside, Anbu under my direct command." of course he completely misinterpreted why she was worried, childbirth scared the shit out of her!

"I'll tell Yiz where the place is, so get your things ready!" Biwako suggests. Both her husband and Minato had a lot to prepare for and the sooner they got to it the better. Kushina takes a few sips of her tea to calm her nerves, "Yes... Thank you both." with that, Kushina and Biwako leave the house and start to walk around Konohagakure. During their walk, Kushina runs into her best friend, Uchiha Mikoto, and her baby.

"Didn't you have a girl?" Kushina asks, where she heard that Mikoto had no idea. The Uchiha clansmen giggles at her longtime friend, "Nope another boy." though a daughter would have been a godsend she loved her newest son all the same. Kushina couldn't contain her glee of seeing the black haired baby in his mother's arms, sleeping peacefully.

"Well, what's his name, Mikoto-chan?" Kushina asks. Mikoto looks at her son lovingly and smiles warmly, "Sasuke."

"Ah, the same as the Sandaime's father." Biwako states with a bit of a giggle. She was sure her husband would get a kick out of that, seeing as the man almost got away with naming their youngest son, Sasuke; too bad for him, her heart was set on Asuma.

"Yes... I'm sure he'll become a fine Shinobi. You're almost due aren't you Kushina-chan? You should pick out a name before it's too late." Mikoto suggests. Kushina beams with utter joy, "Oh we've got one, it's Naruto! Ya know, he and Sasuke-kun will be in the same grade, I hope they become friends!" the two share a laugh and hope for the same thing. Suddenly Kushina begins to shiver in fright and walks up to Mikoto to whisper something in her ear.

"By the way... Does it hurt? Like real bad?" Kushina whispers, getting a giggle from Mikoto.

"Well, well even you're afraid of something. I'll be." Mikoto says. Before anymore can be said, Biwako begins to drag Kushina away, who waves farewell to her friend.

"Remember we need to keep your birth classified. Try not to talk to anyone while we're on the move, even your friends." Biwako instructors in a professional tone honed from years as a kunoichi. Kushina rubs the back of her head and laughs nervously, "Right sorry about that." stopping just outside the gates of the village, Biwako turns to the red-head and gives her a steeled glare.

"The fact that we're leaving the village for this is classified as well! Don't go screaming your head off, even when the contractions start." Biwako commands. While she greatly respected and even cared for the young kunoichi, Konoha always came first. It would not do for someone to interrupt or, Kami forbid, disrupt the seal during. Kushina nods her head in the affirmative as they make their way to their location.

**Later that day...**

In an undisclosed location, the birth of Naruto was underway, "OH KAMI, IT HURRRRRRRRRRRTS!" Kushina couldn't believe the pain she was enduring; it was truly unlike anything she had ever experienced before! Standing next to her, Minato had his hands over the Kyuubi's seal adorned on her swollen belly; making sure to focus on keeping the seal in check with a steady flow of fuuinjutsu chakra.

"I uh... I've never heard Kushina-chan in so much pain, are... Are you sure she's alright?" Minato asks, beads of sweat from keeping the seal in check and from worry fall from his brow. Meanwhile, Biwako and Taji, the Medic-nin, worked to make sure everything went perfect with the delivery.

"She's fine! Just keep your eyes on the seal!" Biwako commands, she didn't like having her mind be distracted with the young man's foolishness. If something was wrong, she would be the first to know; besides it wasn't like she hadn't experienced childbirth multiple times.

"But she's-" Minato starts, but is cut off before he can even finish.

"Good lord you're the Yondaime Hokage! Don't panic! This is why women have babies, you men can't handle pain!" Biwako berates him, before she goes back to helping the delivery go as smoothly as possible. Anything else Minato might want to say was put to rest when he could literally feel the Kyuubi struggle to break free from its seal. Giving his wife and unborn son some encouragement, the Yondaime increases the flow of his fuuinjutsu chakra and literally pushes the Kyuubi back by placing his palm directly on the seal.

Meanwhile, outside the cave, the Anbu assigned to protect the barrier lie in the lake dead. In the center of the now bloody lake is a masked man, who literally phases into the side of the mountain and vanishes. Inside the cave, Kushina's screams grow in volume and the Kyuubi grows more frantic in its attempts to break free.

"The head's out! Almost there, Kushina!" Biwako says.

"Keep going Kushina-san!" Taji proclaims, knowing that the baby was nearly out.

"Narutooo get out here! And Kyuubi, you stay right where you are!" Minato demands, pumping as much chakra as he safely can into the seal. With a final scream, Kushina gives her all in trying to push her baby out of her! The wails of a baby soon drown out everything else as Naruto is born. Biwako cleans the newborn off and wraps him in a blanket and lays him next to his exhausted mother. Minato wipes the tears from his eyes, the thrill of being a father being too much for him at the moment. Kushina finally meets the life that was brewing inside her for 10 months and couldn't contain her joy.

"Alright Kushina, I know you're exhausted from the birth, but we've gotta get the Kyuubi completely sealed!" Minato says, feeling the Kyuubi still trying to break free. Kushina nods in the agreement, but the screams from Biwako and Taji take his attention away from the seal. To his horror, both fall to the ground having suffered from mortal wounds, but the terror doesn't end there.

"Yondaime Hokage... Minato. Step away from the Jinchuuriki or your son dies at the ripe age of one minute." A masked man demands, young Naruto in his arms and his hand just inches from his face.

_"How did he break through the barrier? Who the hell is this guy?"_ Minato ponders. Just as he makes a move to rescue Naruto, the seal starts to bulge and sealing arrays begin to spread all over Kushina's body as she groans in pain. "Kushina!" it was clear the seal wasn't completely repaired and it seemed the longer he took, the closer the Kyuubi would be to its release.

"Back away from the Jinchuuriki... Or don't you care if your son dies?" the masked man asks, pulling a bloody kunai from his sleeve. Meanwhile, Biwako and Taji slowly bleed to death, just adding to Minato's growing list of problems. The seal keeping the Kyuubi at bay continues to fail, an unknown enemy has his newborn son hostage and two of his fellow villagers are dying right before him.

"Hold it, j-just calm down!" Minato yells, trying to take his own advice and keep calm even though his blood was boiling and his mind was racing.

"You should take your own advice, Minato. I'm perfectly calm." the masked man says, tossing Naruto into the air and aiming to stab the child with his kunai.

"NARUTO!" Kushina screams in horror, seeing her baby boy about to be stabbed. In a flash of yellow light, Minato is gone and reappears on the wall with Naruto in his hands.

"You live up to your 'Yellow Flash' moniker, but what now?" the masked man asks. Before Minato could ponder what he meant, the sound and smell of paper bombs fill his senses and he realizes the bastard had placed paper bombs on Naruto's bundle. Thinking quickly, Minato grabs his son out of the bundle and warps both of them to another location. Not wanting for the bomb to blow in the cave, he takes it with him and just as the bombs blow, he tosses his tri prong kunai out of the building he warped to and escapes just in the knick of time.

"Thank Kami... You're safe my Naruto-kun..." Minato sighs in relief before he winces from a piece of shrapnel logged in his leg. _"He's after Kushina-chan... He forced me to use the Hiraishin no jutsu to separate us!"_ taking the shrapnel out of his leg, he warps back to the kunai hanging just over the bed Kushina was. Upon arriving, he finds both Kushina and the masked man are gone as he curses himself.

Meanwhile, Kushina finds herself chained by several sealing arrays that wrap around several rock formations and chains her in place.

"I've come here to rip the Kyuubi from your stomach and use it to crush Konoha." the masked man explains, seeing the question burning in Kushina's eyes. The realization shocks the Uzumaki to her core, how could this man know so much about her seal? "Minato's Hiraishin no jutsu uses a special marking that lets him instantly move from one marking to the next. I see he's incorporated it into the design of your seal." from the eye hole of his mask, a sharingan whirls wildly.

"All so he would always be there to protect you... But I managed to get away from him. And the seal has been weakened greatly from the birth. Do you have **any** idea how long I've waited for this moment!?" the masked man asks darkly. Using his sharingan, he places a genjutsu over Kushina and projects himself inside her mindscape where the Kyuubi dwells...

Meanwhile, Minato places Naruto in bed and tucks him in, "You'll be safe here... You'll wait on your own for a bit... I've gotta go save mom before it's too late."

Inside Kushina's mindscape, the great Kyuubi no Yoko was pinned to a giant rock. His tails, hands, and feet were pierced by pillars and his neck, wrists and ankles were chained down. The masked man enters the area and enslaves the beast with a simple glance as the sharingan imprints into Kyuubi's eyes and leaves it in a daze. The rock begins to melt like ice cream in the sun and its restraints finally weaken enough for it to free itself as it roars in triumph and pain! Outside her minscape, the Kyuubi's chakra pours out of the seal and coats her body in a shroud that takes the form of the Kyuubi's face.

"Come forth, Kyuubi no Yoko!" the masked man commands, after decades of imprisonment, the Kyuubi is freed! The beast so tall it appears to touch the full moon that gleams in the night sky. It unleashes a terrifying roar that can be heard and felt from miles away. Kushina lies on a rock formation, exhausted but still alive as she tries to stop the masked man.

"... The Uzumaki clan is really something special. Even wrenching a Bijuu out of your body didn't kill you right away." the masked man says with some form of admiration. With a signal, the masked man commands the Kyuubi to finish its previous Jinchuuriki as the beast rears its claws back, "It's only fitting for the Kyuubi to kill its former Jinchuuriki." with that the beast slams its claws down on Kushina and destroys the rock formation. On a tree not far from ground zero, Minato appears in a flash of light carrying Kushina bridal style in his arms.

"A small flash of hope... But it's too late." the masked man comments.

"Minato... Is Naruto... Is Naruto-kun okay?" Kushina pants, clearly on the verge of death, but refusing to die. The longevity her clan was known for clearly working overtime to ensure she lives for however long she has left.

"Yes... He's fine, I hid him somewhere safe." Minato ensures her with a warm smile. Kushina sighs in relief, "Oh thank Kami..." Minato turns and sends the masked man the coldest glare the man has ever seen. If not for his mask, he was sure the Yondaime would see him sweat from the intensity alone. No one could deny Minato was a dangerous man to have as an enemy, but the masked man was confident with the Kyuubi no one could stand against him.

"Minato-kun... Stop him... Stop the Kyuubi... They're headed for the village..." Kushina warns as she closes her eyes to try to restore whatever chakra she could. Minato remains silent for a moment and warps them away from the area. "Gone again... No matter... On to Konoha!" with that the Kyuubi and the masked man also disappear.

Meanwhile, Minato appears where he hid Naruto and lays Kushina down next to their son. Kushina cradles her baby for dear life and sheds some tears. Minato's knuckles turn white from balling them up. This man dared to threaten his wife, his son and even his village; he would pay for this dearly! Kushina thanks Minato for bringing her to their son and wishes her husband good luck as he puts on his trademark coat.

Meanwhile in Konohagakure, a young Uchiha Itachi senses the impeding doom that races towards his village. Even Sasuke begins to cry as the feeling grows more intense, but Itachi quiets him by rocking him and ensuring him he'd protect him no matter what. Many of the villagers seem to be ignorant of the doom as they go about their business.

"Why don't we just go with rock-paper-scissors today?" Kakashi asks his long time friend Guy, who doesn't seem to like the idea.

"Not again! I want a more hot-blooded contest! And you call yourself my rival!" Guy declares.

"... Hey Guy... Do you sense something... Off, like there's an awful chill in the air?" Kakashi asks, having felt something bad was going to happen.

"Why do you act like this?! We'll only be young once!" Guy yells, his eyes going all white and round in fury.

Meanwhile at the Hokage Tower, the Sandaime Hokage is going over some a file, when he feels a chill that he hasn't felt in decades. Looking out the window towards the hidden cave, _"It couldn't be..."_ how wrong he was. The masked man appears in the village, "Kuchiyose no jutsu (Summoning Technique)!" a giant sealing array spreads on the ground and even some of the buildings. in a massive explosion of smoke, the Kyuubi no Yoko appears in Konoha and causes mayhem and havoc as the masked man commands it to attack!

Its roar alone is enough to send civilians and shinobi alike flying through the sky and crash to their deaths or smash against buildings. Buildings crumbled under the might of its tails and its claws as it slammed and slashed them to pieces; any residents inside said buildings met a gruesome death.

"Sandaime-sama! It's the Kyuubi, the Kyuubi attacked the village out of nowhere!" an Anbu reports to the old veteran. The Sandaime was already dressed in his battle armor and on his way to defend his home and its people.

"I know! I'll hold it back gather and protect the civilians!" the Sandaime orders as the Anbu bows and leaves to complete his orders. _"Did Kushina's seal fail? Were all the safe guards we put in place really not enough?!"_ his heart was shattered at the thought his beloved wife may have already been a casualty, but now was not the time to mourn. Meanwhile, the Kyuubi jumps and pounces down from one area of the village to another and swipes its tails over several areas to cause as much destruction as it possibly can. Suddenly, it stops and looks to the Hokage Monument as it senses, even through its enchantment, the chakra belonging to the person who almost kept it from being freed. Standing on one of the spikes of his hair on his face, the Yondaime appears.

"So you noticed me already." the Yondaime says. The Kyuubi begins to charge up its signature Bijuudama, but the Yondaime would have none of that. Going through hand seals at a rate considered inhuman, he finishes just as the Kyuubi fires its ball of destruction at him! Using his Hiraishin kunai as a medium, the Yondaime uses a Jikuukan Ninjutsu (Space-Time Ninjutsu) Barrier to suck the Bijuudama up and send it away from the village. The resulting explosion can still be seen and felt from the distance.

"It stopped the Kyuubi's attack... That was a Jikuukan Barrier jutsu!" Chouza declares. Many of the panicking villagers had hope restored as they knew of only one person who could utilize Jikuukan ninjutsu.

"It's Minato!" Shikaku declares as the shinobi begin to rally together in order to help their Yondaime Hokage repel this menace from their beloved village! Appearing via Shunshin, the Sandaime joins his shinobi in the greatest battle any of them would ever fight in their lives. "Everyone move out!" he already had Enma transformed into his adamantine Bo staff form. Sensing the arrival of the Sandaime, the Yondaime prepares to go tell his predecessor what happened when he senses someone behind him. Turning around swiftly, the Yondaime aims to stab the head of whoever was behind him. To his shock, his hand phased right through the masked man and he grabs a hold of his arm.

"**You** will face **me**. Aaaand... We're done." the masked man says, attempting to draw the Yondaime inside some kind of jutsu. Before the Yondaime could be completely drawn in, he warps to safety much to the shock of the masked man.

"He teleported... Talk about fast. Next time I'll warp you the moment I lay my hand on you." the masked man says to himself. Meanwhile, the Yondaime appears a distance away and slides across the ground a bit. _"My attack slipped right through him, but a moment later he was solid and trying to... Suck me into some dimension or something, what jutsu was that?"_ from a spiraling vortex, the masked man appears before the young Hokage, who rises to his feet.

"You won't escape from me." the masked man says. _"Whatever he did, it must be how he moved so far after taking Kushina. Does he use Jikuukan jutsu too?"_ Looking into the mask of his foe, the Yondaime can see his sharingan gleaming. _"He defeated Anbu under the direct command of the Sandaime, got past the most powerful top-secret barrier we have, and must have known the seal would be weak while Kushina was giving birth... Then with the seal undone he took the Kyuubi and marched straight into Konoha without so much as pausing to deal with the barrier... There's only one man I can think of that makes sense..."_ but how could He have survived all this time without being detected? How did he survive a battle that created the Valley of the End?

"Are you Uchiha Madara?" the Yondaime asks. The masked man lowers his hood to reveal spiky black hair.

"No... You couldn't be. He's long dead..." the Yondaime says, the Shodai Hokage himself killed Madara during their climatic battle, so could another Uchiha have learned how to enslave a Bijuu?

"Oh... I don't know about **that**." the masked man says cryptically. The Yondaime should have known the masked man would be less than forthcoming with his identity. He didn't confirm nor deny it really.

"... On second thought, it doesn't matter who you are, but why you have attacked Konoha?" the Yondaime asks. The masked man just chuckles darkly and pulls out long chains attached to bracelets on his wrists.

"Oh you know... It's fun, it's part of my plan... To start a war... To bring peace." the masked man explains, though even he didn't sound too sure of either option. Then again, maybe he was just trying to spread misinformation to throw the Yondaime off. Whatever his goals where, they were clearly evil in intent. _"Whoever he is, he's incredible! He can control the Kyuubi, wields Jikuukan jutsus that exceeds the Nidaime and my own and clearly has evil intentions. If I don't kill him now he'll become a greater threat than the fox!"_

_"If I teleport back to the village he'll just follow me and things will get even more chaotic. If he really is Madara, then I doubt he can summon the Kyuubi for very long. I'll just have to leave the village in the Sandaime's hands and finish him off right here and now!"_ the Yondaime decides holding his tri-pronged kunai in a ready position.

"There's no hope for any of you!" the masked man yells as he rushes the Yondaime, who covers the distance between them in seconds and tries to slash the man with his kunai. Only for his entire body to phase through him once again. This time, the chains wrap around the Yondaime, who warps out of his binds using his Hiraishin no jutsu. _"He makes his intangible to negate my attacks, then solidifies to counterattack. My only shot is to try and trade blows with him, but attacking at all is a big risk for him. If he can only keep the Kyuubi summoned for a short time, he won't want this fight to drag on."_ with that the Yondaime dashes forward in order to engage the masked man.

_"It comes down to speed, whoever strikes a split second earlier will win!"_ the Yondaime ponders. Both men rush towards on another, the Yondaime tosses his kunai at the man's mask, who lets it phase right through him. As the two get closer to one another, the Yellow Flash conjures a Rasengan instantly and just as the masked man believes he's got the Yondaime in his clutches...!

"Rasengan!" the Yondaime roars, slamming his signature jutsu into the masked man's back from above. The Rasengan grinds the masked man into the ground and causes the ground to uproot in a might explosion as debris is thrown about in the air."_Damn it.. He teleported to the kunai he just threw!"  
_

"That was the Hiraishin no jutsu level 2." the Yondaime says adding one last push on his rasengan and uproots the ground even more! Just for extra measure, the Yondaime subtly places a Hiraishin shiki on his body. The masked man leaps away from the Yondaime as his hand begins to ooze and literally falls off! Before he can even catch his breathe, the Yondaime appears in front of him in an instant and stabs him in the stomach.

"GHK! The Hiraishin no jutsu! He must've put that marking somewhere on my body!" the masked man realizes in shock and mild terror. Not done with his assault, the Yondaime places a Keiyaku Fuuin (Contract Seal) on his torso.

"A contract seal?! Are you trying to pull the Kyuubi free from my control?!" the masked man asks in fury! All his plans, all that waiting ruined by one man!

"No, I already did! He's no longer your weapon!" the Yondaime declares. To his word, in Konohagakure, the Kyuubi's will is restored and it's mind is once more its own. Before it can do anything else, Enma is driven into its chest and forces it outside the village walls; though not without doing serious damage to the village and its wall. _"Where's Minato?"_ seeing as the Kyuubi was successfully driven out of the village, its shinobi/kunoichi begin to pour out in swarms and launch all manners of ninjutsu, genjutsu, weaponry and traps against the mightiest of the Bijuu!

"You deserve your title of Yondaime Hokage... Managing to wound me and wrest the fox from my control in one move. But someday it will be mine again. The fox, the whole world, will bow to my will. Many doors are still left open to me." the masked man declares before he is sucked into a spiraling vortex in his eye and vanishes without a trace.

The Kyuubi, having enough of the Konoha shinobi/kunoichi's attempts to 'kill it', charges up another Bijuudama to put an end to them! Suddenly, the Boss of the Toad Summons, Gamabunta, appears above the Kyuubi and crashes on top of it. Seeing the titanic toad, the villagers rejoiced at the arrival of their Yondaime Hokage. _"Sorry Kushina..."_ the Yondaime knew that so long as the Kyuubi was free, the masked man would always be a threat to the village and the entire Shinobi world! There was only one fuuinjutsu he knew that would be able to solve both problems at once.

"Hold the fox down for a minute!" the Yondaime commands, feeling the Kyuubi begin to try to force the huge toad off him.

"Look, I may be big, but I'm not a miracle worker!" Gamabunta says, struggling to keep the mighty fox under his foot.

"I need enough chakra to take him and that blast out of here!" the Yondaime says, already in the process of gathering his chakra. Before the Kyuubi could fire his blast, the Yellow Flash makes use of his moniker and warps him and the Kyuubi out of the village. Before the Sandaime could ponder where they were, a blast can be seen a grand distance from Konoha.

The Yondaime appears with Kushina, who has Naruto, in his arms. Clearly beginning to tire from his overuse of Hiraishin, not to mention having to transport something the size of the Kyuubi multiple times. "Gotta put up a barrier." he hated to ask her for something like this, considering all she went through. Despite being almost completely drained of chakra, Kushina materializes chakra chains from her back that ensnares the Kyuubi and erects a barrier around them. Much to the Yondaime's horror, his wife begins to cough out blood just showing how much stress she was in. Naruto begins to cry from all the sounds of battle around him.

"Sorry Naruto-kun... I didn't... Mean to wake you." Kushina pants, trying to put on a smile for her son.

"Kushina..." the Yondaime says in worry. He could see the life begin to slip from her radiant eyes as the bags get darker and her body trembles.

"I'll drag the Kyuubi... Back... And die with it inside me... That'll... Prevent it from coming back... For a while... It's the only way to save you both... With the little bit of chakra I have left. Thank you... For everything." Kushina says with a bloody smile. She was resigned to her fate, for if she must die, then she wanted to make sure the two loves of her life were protected. The Yondaime could only gasp in horror at his wife's words.

"... Kushina-hime... You... You made me your husband... You made me the Yondaime Hokage... You made me this boy's father! And I..." the Yondaime says on the verge of tears.

"Don't look so sad... Minato. I'm... I'm happy. Happy that you loved me. Happy that it's... Our son's... Birthday." Kushina says. She would always treasure the love Minato gave her and the son he helped her conceive. Poor Naruto could only wail, almost as if he knew what was to come.

"Like... If I imagined surviving and the three of us... Living together... I can't think of anything... Beyond 'I'd be so happy.'" Kushina says. The tears freely fell down the Yondaime's face at his wife's supposed final words. Today was supposed to be a joyous day! The day he became a father and the start of a new life for him, his wife and his precious son.

"If I had any regrets... It would be that I won't see Naruto-kun grow up." Kushina says, looking at her crying baby boy and imagining how he'd grow up without her.

"... Kushina-chan... You don't need to take the fox down with you. We can use our last bit of chakra to see Naruto one more time!" the Yondaime states, knowing what he had to do.

"I'll seal the last of your chakra in Naruto with an Hakke no Fuuin (Eight Trigram Sealing). Then I'll lead the Kyuubi away with a seal only a non-Jinchuuriki like me can use, the Shiki Fuujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal)." the Yondaime says, wiping away his tears and steeling his resolve. Kushina warns him that using that seal will result in his own death.

"But I'll only be able to seal half of the fox's power... It's just too great, it's physically and conceptually impossible to completely seal it all. I can't let the Kyuubi be revived without a Jinchuuriki, the balance of Bijuu will be destroyed. But with the Shiki Fuujin I can permanently seal half the fox's power along with myself. And the remaining half..." the Yondaime says, reminiscing to the time Jiraiya told him the Prophecy of the Destined Child.

"I'll seal the remaining half inside Naruto with the Hakke no Fuuin." the Yondaime states, much to the shock of Kushina.

"I know what you want to say... But Jiraiya-sensei spoke of the world undergoing a revolution and with it, a great disaster. Tonight I've confirmed two things. The first is that masked man, the one who attacked you... He is the harbinger of that disaster! And Naruto will be the one to stop him. The Jinchuuriki who will blaze the trail to our future. I just... Know it." the Yondaime states. Suddenly, the Sandaime appears armed with Enma, but before anyone could stop him, the Yondaime flashes through the necessary hand seals and completes the Shiki Fuujin!

He invokes the power of a spectral entity known as the Shinigami,that can only be seen when it grasps one's soul. The Shinigami hovers behind the user and wraps its left arm with prayer beads. The Yondaime's soul is wrapped up by some of the bangs of the Shinigami's hair. Kushina screams her disapproval of using the Shiki Fuujin to sacrifice Minato's soul just to save the village and placing the burden of being a Jinchuuriki on their son. To force him to grow up alone and with no one to love him and help him conquer the hatred of the Kyuubi, but Minato has already made up his mind. He reminds her of her own village being destroyed and how leaving the Kyuubi out was too dangerous. For the Kyuubi would regenerate during Naruto's time and all this would happen again.

Curse seals are etched on the Shinigami's arm, before it plunges its hand through the Yondaime and stretches towards the Kyuubi, where it grabs a hold of its soul through its arm. With the command of 'Seal' half of the Kyuubi's soul is ripped from its body and dragged inside Minato's body. A seal is burned into his torso once the Kyuubi's chakra was completely sealed inside of him. With half its chakra gone, the Kyuubi began to shrink but it still was of titanic in size.

Outside the barrier, the Sandaime is joined by a few shinobi, who can only ponder what is happening inside the barrier. "So he **did** use the Shiki Fuujin! I can't believe he actually used it..."

"But the fox remains! He didn't seal all of it, but it shrunk!" a nameless shinobi states. Inside the barrier, Minato's body is numbed by the intensity of the Kyuubi's chakra. He summons the sealing alter to begin the sealing of the rest of the Kyuubi's chakra into Naruto, but the fox has other plans. Summoning Gerotora, he hands the key to the seal over to him and instructs him to give it to Jiraiya. In a poof of smoke, the sealing toad leaves to do as told. The minute Minato is distracted by Kushina's coughing, the Kyuubi attempts to crush the child under his paw. Before the fox can finish its assault, Kushina tightens the chains around the beast and she and Minato throw themselves against the beast's claws as they are impaled! Soon after, the Shinigami devours both Minato and the Kyuubi's soul as the Yondaime completes the Hakke Fuuin and both he and his wife say their goodbyes to Naruto.

The Kyuubi's remaining chakra is sealed into Naruto as its body vanishes inside the seal. With Kushina dead, the barrier shatters and all those gathered can only ponder on what to do next. Seeing many of the gathered Shinobi glare at the child, the Sandaime orders them to help retrieve the dead. The battle was finally over, the Kyuubi vanquished and Konoha was saved from disaster; though he could tell Naruto would experience much hardship. Before long, Jiraiya arrives via reverse summoning; he had a few toads stay in Konoha in case he needed to arrive in an emergency.

What he arrived to was his worse nightmare, the lifeless corpse of his greatest student. The only man he ever saw as his own flesh and blood lie dead before his time. He could hold back the tears if he wanted to. "Dammit kid... Here you are dead and yet you have a smile on your face. As if to say 'I beat you again sensei...'" the great Toad Sage fell to his knees in sorrow as the Sandaime allowed his student to mourn the loss of his student; no sensei should out live their pupils.

The wailing of Naruto draws Jiraiya out of his woes as he walks over to the alter and picks up the crying baby. He tries to soothe the child, but nothing seems to work. He gets so desperate that he offers his Godson money, toys, hell even women but nothing seems to work. In a last ditch effort, he promises to teach him a jutsu and like magic, Naruto stops crying and even giggles. The Sandaime can only chuckle at the boy's eagerness to learn jutsu; it seemed the boy was destined to be a shinobi.

It truly pained the old veteran to have to pry the child from his student, but with the danger gone, the Council would gather in order to discuss the village's recovery. The rumors surely have spread by now that Naruto was the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki and the only way to keep a mob from forming was to take immediate action! As if sensing his sensei's intentions, Jiraiya cradles the baby close to him.

"Jiraiya-kun... Please hand over Naruto-kun. I think it's about time he went home." the Sandaime says. Jiraiya growls at his sensei like a rabid animal. He was no fool, nor did he hold any illusions. He had heard on his way here how the villagers viewed Naruto. They saw him as the Kyuubi reincarnate and would call for his blood and he would be damned if he let that happen.

"Don't be a fool sensei! The villagers will tear Naruto apart, I know this more than anyone! I've traveled all over the world and have seen firsthand how Jinchuuriki are treated. They are hated and treated like the scorns of humanity. The best we can hope for is he's turned into a weapon for Konoha and with Danzo going after orphans, there will be no one here to protect Naruto!" Jiraiya declares.

"Jiraiya! Have faith in your home. The people will see Naruto as the hero he is, just as their fallen Hokage wished in his dying moments. The Will of Fire will burn through their hatred and they will see him as the jailor and not the fox." the Sandaime says having to reel in his temper a bit. It truly hurt him to have his only remaining loyal student have such little faith in his village.

"Tsk, Will of Fire. This village has changed since you first became Hokage sensei! For Kami's sake, most of the shinobi in the village still hold grudges towards Iwa for the lives we lost during the Third Shinobi War! Grudges aren't forgotten because of a few words from a dead man and hatred can cripple anyone, especially a child! Please, let me take him with me. Let me be the Godfather Minato and Kushina wanted me to be." Jiraiya pleads. He refused to allow his Godson to be the village's scapegoat for their pain and anger. The Sandaime could only sigh, seeing a battle he was honestly too tired to fight.

"... Can you ensure that Naruto-kun will receive everything the village could offer him? A place to call home and the warmth of love and friends?" the Sandaime asks. While he still had faith in his people, he knew there was a reason Kushina's status as a Jinchuuriki was kept top-secret. Even if he made decrees to keep Naruto's Jinchuuriki status secret from those of his generation, there was a good chance that the minds of the older generation were still tainted. They could easily tell their children to stay away from Naruto, or even ridicule him. Not to mention, he was only one man. He would not be able to protect Naruto 24/7 and even his Anbu could be bias towards the boy; there were too many unknowns for the Hokage's liking.

"I can give him that and more." Jiraiya ensures with a smirk. Flashing the bird and dragon hand seals, the Toad Sage slams his palm on the ground as plumes of smoke cover the area. When it clears, two masked figures stand in the center of the smoke. The Dragon masked figure was clearly male, he wore a black over jacket, that was partially unzipped, a chainmail shirt underneath, black jeans and combat boots. He also has two dagger holsters under each armpit, armor pads on his forearms, shoulders and calves and a utility belt with straps on the side that held four scrolls on each side; a total of eight scrolls hanging from his hip. The Bird masked figure was female, she wore a red and black battle kimono, that has burning embers scatter throughout the dress, a pink and white obi, chainmail leggings and red heels. Strapped to her back are a Nodachi, a Daito and a Wakizashi and armor pads on her forearms, shoulders and hips that stop at her thighs.

"Yo Sandaime-sama! Man it's good to see you alive and well. The last time I saw you, Oro-" before the Dragon masked man could finish his statement, the Bird masked woman elbows him in the ribs and knocks the wind out of him. "Please ignore my partner, Tatsu, here. He has a... Weird sense of humor. I am Tori and we are among Jiraiya-sensei's greatest spies." that was news to the Sandaime, he didn't know his student took any others under his wing other than the Yondaime.

"It is a pleasure to meet two of the agents that not only keep my village safe, but brings vital information to our walls. Tell me, what do you two have to do with Naruto-kun?" the Sandaime asks, not understanding their place in Jiraiya's plan for young Naruto. Tatsu rubs his sore ribs and looks at Tori, what he did under the mask was anyone's guess. With a nod of her head, Tatsu steps forth in front of the Sandaime.

"Sandaime-sama, while Jiraiya-sensei is out going over leads and gathering intel, my partner and I will look over young Naruto. We are both orphans from the last Shinobi War and have experience not only as orphans, but taking care of them as well. As we speak, a Kage Bunshin of mine is at our current base watching over an orphan girl, who saw her entire clan wiped out. Besides it's not like we haven't raised Naruto before." Tatsu explains, saying the last thing to himself to low for anyone but Tori to hear. Said woman looks at her partner and an aura of annoyance rolls off her.

_"I thought we discussed this... No one in this time period knows who we are. They don't remember the times we shared, because they don't exist! They can never exist because we are no longer fallen angels. We are Amira and Apollo, two orphans from Kumogakure that were taken in by Jiraiya-sensei at the age of seven, ten years ago."_ Tori says via their shared mental link. Tatsu can only sigh, _"Yeah yeah I know that! It doesn't mean I can't screw with them from time to time. I have all this knowledge from a future that could happen!"_

The Sandaime thinks about the young couple watching over Naruto deeply. While he trusted Jiraiya, he did not trust these two; at least he didn't think he did. For some reason, he felt... Like he should know them, but couldn't put his finger on from where. Meanwhile, Tori and Tatsu were still arguing inside their mental link like a married couple.

_"If the future really DID follow the same path as the one we're from, then we'll die and Naruto will turn evil! It's the very reason why we used our remaining chakra to be reborn in the first place! Only thanks to you over shooting things, we were sent back seventeen years before Naruto-chan was even born!"_ Tori berates. Tatsu just shrugs, _"Eh what can you do? I'll admit, I was a bit... Overzealous in returning, but it worked... Kinda sorta. We were supposed to be born in Konoha, but Kumogakure made more sense; what with our black skin and all."_

With a heavy sigh, the Sandaime makes his decision, "Fine Jiraiya, I will allow this. I only ask that you return him when he is old enough to graduate from the academy and send me updates every week." beaming with sheer joy, the Toad Sage promises and thanks his sensei before the group leave in various Shunshins. Jiraiya vanishes in a swirl of mud, Tatsu in a swirl of darkness and Tori in a swirl of fire. Looking at the corpses of Kushina and Minato, the Sandaime sighs deeply.

"I hope this is what you two would want... Your child deserves to be happy and will need all the love he can get to endure the burden placed on him." the Sandaime says to himself. With that said, he too vanishes in a swirl of leaves in order to take up the Kage Hat once more and lead his village in its time of need.

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And done! I hope everyone enjoys the first chapter of this AU of an AU! Expect much more to come! The word count of this one chapter is like maybe 2 or 3 of the old TS!


	2. Toads, Dragons, and Birds

LS67: I'm back with another edition of TS:AB! Well it's slow coming with the reviews, but I'm glad people are reading it; hopefully you all are enjoying the story so far! I promise more action and comedy from Tatsu and Tori and yes Jiraiya will be a reoccurring character in the story. With his whole Spy Network, Jiraiya will be in and out of Naruto's life, but he will drop in more often than not. Joining me in commentary is Jiraiya-sama himself!

Jiraiya: Ladies, ladies it's so good to be here! I know, you all miss me from the original manga and anime! I am sorry to have left you so suddenly, but know I will be here for years to come for your pleasure! Without further ado, LightSeeker67 doesn't own Naruto and especially not me; I belong to the millions of ladies out there!

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"..." Speech

... Narration

_"..."_ Thoughts

"Bird (Tori), Boar (I), Dog (Inu), Dragon (Tatsu), Ox (Ushi), Tiger (Tora), Snake (Mi), Rat (Ne), Horse (Uma), Monkey (Saru), Hare (U), Ram (Hitsuji)" Hand seals (AN: Only when first introducing certain jutsus or when it is a especially powerful one will I write in the hand seals)

True Shinobi: Afterbirth

Act I: Birth of a Hero

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Chapter 2:Toads, Dragons and Birds

The Konoha Council were all gathered in the most secure chambers, next to the Hokage's office, in all of Konohagakure. With the recent Kyuubi incident, both the citizen and shinobi council alike were still raw with emotion. Many demanded to know if the rumors of a Jinchuuriki of such a vile beast were true and what would be done to the little vermin.

"Is it true Hokage-sama, has the Kyuubi truly been reincarnated as a human child?" a civilian councilman named Muchina asks. His question was shared by many of the gathered councilmen, shinobi included. The Sandaime only sighed deeply, trying to think quickly. Should he keep Naruto's identity secret and risk everyone being weary of each other or tell them and put the young boy in danger once he returns? It was times like this he wished Minato was still alive or at least another successor was available. He could tell from the murmurs that mistrust was already beginning to spread among the civilians and came to a decision.

"The Yondaime Hokage could not kill a Bijuu, no human can. Bijuu are nothing more than masses of chakra given form; literal Chakra Monsters. Even if he managed to somehow kill it, it would simply begin a regeneration period and in a few years would be back to attack us when we least expect it." the Sandaime explains. The council began to worry about such a possibility and start to talk amongst themselves about the horrors of such an event happening again.

"With that said, the Yondaime knew the only way to protect our village was to seal it inside a child, for only a child's undeveloped chakra system and coils could adapt to the intense chakra of the Kyuubi. That child is named Uzumaki Naruto and he is under the guardianship of my student, Jiraiya of the Sannin. Currently, young Naruto is out of the village and will remain so for the foreseeable future. It is my and your Yondaime's solemn hope that you all view Naruto as the hero is truly is. Due to his sacrifice, we all live to fight another day and uphold the Will of Fire of our forefathers." the Sandaime explains, hoping to calm their fears and see understanding flash in their eyes. He was proud to see many of the shinobi council nod in understanding or, in Hiashi's case, look indifferent. The shinobi council could rest easy knowing the Yondaime was one of few Seal Masters in the entire Elemental Nations; you don't get that title by half-assing seals. To the old veteran's disappointment, the civilian council were not so understanding. Perhaps they didn't understand the complexity of fuuinjutsu or maybe they just didn't have faith in their Yondaime Hokage, either way they were anything but convinced.

"While it does put us at ease the beast is gone and out of the village, I vote that it never be allowed to return. Who's to say by the time the child returns the Kyuubi wouldn't have already corrupted the boy? If even the Yondaime couldn't kill the Kyuubi, then what hope does a child have at keeping it at bay? Does the seal keep the boy and Kyuubi as separate entities or can they communicate? There are too many unknowns for us civilians to feel safe. Hell even our shinobi could be at risk; especially if Jiraiya-sama is training it." an influential banker named Rojikku asks, the though of a mere child keeping the Kyuubi at bay didn't sit well with him.

"Yeah, I mean what's keeping the Kyuubi from possessing the child? It's common knowledge that Jinchuuriki are often overwhelmed by their Bijuu and go on rampages through their villages! These beasts aren't sapient, they have no personalities, nor can they be reasoned with! They're bestial by nature and only know how to destroy! I agree that the demon child should never be allowed to step foot in the village!" the owner of all Konoha hot springs, Orokana declares. Many, if not all the civilian council agreed with her sentiment. Not to mention if Jiraiya was raising it, the chances of it growing up into a perverted demon skyrocketed! The last thing she needed was another super pervert peeking at the women and ruining her businesses; no matter how high of a wall she had built, the old hermit always found a way to continue his perversions.

"It's also common knowledge that the Jinchuuriki are treated as less than human by their fellow villagers. Some are even openly attacked and such hatred, combined with the whispers of their Bijuu leads to the aforementioned mental break and rampaging. If treated with the same respect everyone deserves, I'm sure the child will conquer the beast and become a valuable asset to our forces." Shibi, head of the Aburame clan, states. None more than his clan could understand being feared for something not only within them, but for the most part out of their control. From the day an Aburame is born, the insects native to their clan use them as hosts; whether they want to or not. Despite the logic behind his statement, the civilians and shinobi were divided as to how to treat and deal with the Jinchuuriki, it was truly a dark day for Konoha.

"Enough! The fact of the matter is out of any of our hands. As I said, Jiraiya has custody of Naruto and thus we need not worry about him. It is truly saddening that you would all disregard the Yondaime's dying wish all because of your own fears and prejudices. I have informed the council of what became of the Kyuubi and the matter is over." the Sandaime declares, not hiding his ire at the civilians for their lack of respect of their fallen Hokage. Many civilians tried to claim that they truly loved their Yondaime Hokage and viewed him as the greatest hero of their time, they were just cautious about the Kyuubi roaming free and wanted to ensure their village didn't have a repeat of recent events.

"On to the next matter, the village has suffered extreme losses of not only our defensive walls, homes and businesses, but also life. I call Birudo to the floor to discuss our losses on a civilian level." the Sandaime states as he takes his seat. A muscular man in his late forties stands up and takes the floor. Birudo is in charge of all construction labor and maintenance of the village's buildings as well as providing contracts to builders outside the village.

"Thank you Hokage-sama, after reviewing the damages collected by several teams it seems about 45% of the village sustained heavy damage and 39% sustained minimal damage. Of the 45% the east and west sides were most effected, while the north, being the 16%, is mostly left intact. The East and west walls were destroyed and about 350 businesses and 660 homes were damaged to the point of needing to be rebuilt from the ground up. Estimated reconstruction will take us 4 years at least and we will need to outsource in order to meet this deadline." Birudo reports before taking his seat. There was much murmuring about who lost what and if 4 years was really enough time to heal from the damages done. Luckily, Konohagakure bordered quite a few nations known for their great builders and construction workers; the main problem was how would they afford it?

"Hokage-sama, if I may?" Rojikku asks for the floor and is granted permission to speak. "Due to the heavy losses to our village, I'm sure I can discuss taking out loans with the other banks to ensure the village is rebuild in a timely fashion. With so many deaths, life insurances are sure to come to the grieving families and I recommend everyone pitch in to the reconstruction. I would also advise asking the Fire Daimyo to increase his payments to us for the next 2 years until we can stand on our own two feet." the civilians were all for the idea, while the shinobi were a bit more weary to the idea of owing civilians money they may not have later on. Being a shinobi was already expensive enough seeing as they had to pay for their own equipment, rarely owned any land due to being out of the village for months at a time and didn't use banks to begin with. Taking out loans meant starting bank accounts, monthly payments and interest, but saw little choice in the matter. Shinobi were capable of many things, but required civilians to do the more mundane tasks that they were trained to do. Shinobi were an army of warriors, while civilians were an army of laborers; they controlled electricity, sewage, the banks, restaurants, clothing stores, etc.

"This sounds reasonable, the motion has been approved. The civilian council are dismissed to go about their business, however; all of the shinobi council members must stay." the Sandaime orders as the civilians leave feeling contempt with the meeting. The Kyuubi was out of their village and the healing of both the village and its inhabitants could begin with that peace of mind; though many were unnerved about the possibility of the demon child's dreaded return. With the civilians gone, the shinobi began to discuss matters unfit for their ears. The Sandaime gave the floor to Nara Shikaku, acting Jonin Commander to his forces.

"Hokage-sama, after recovering all the deceased from the battle fields, our forces have lost a total of 35% of its shinobi; that means out of the 16,000 we had, we lost 5,600 of them. Of that 35%, 280 or 5% were Anbu, 448 or 8% were of Jonin rank and the remaining 1,512 or 27% were of Chunin rank. As ordered during the battle, all shinobi of genin rank or under the age of 18 were prohibited from engaging in the battle and thus saved us the lost our future Chunin and Jonin. Of the 10,400 or 65% of our remaining forces, 3,120 or 30% were injured critically and will need to undergo rehabilitation for several months if not years to rejoin active duty; if at all. Of those injured were 125 or 4% Anbu, 374 or 12% were Jonin and 437 or 14% were Chunin. 1,872 or 18% of the remaining forces have been crippled for life and will never be shinobi again leaving us with only 1768 or 17% active shinobi; a total of 108 Anbu, 669 Jonin, 790 Chunin and 201 genin. As it stands we are at a huge disadvantage when it comes to numbers compared to our known enemies and will need to keep up a strong front to keep them at bay." Shikaku explains with a drool. The Sandaime could only sigh at the number of loss one creature brought upon his home; many would need to be buried and added to the Monumental Stone.

"Agreed, those of Jonin rank are hereby prohibited to go on any missions lower than B rank. Chunin will handle missions of C rank and higher and all Jonin senseis will be asked to train their genin to handle missions of C and B rank until further notice. If I deem the genin team of exceptional skill I will allow them to accompany their senseis on missions higher than B rank. Any opposed?" the Sandaime asks, no one opposed and the motion was passed. With that said, the Sandaime dismissed the rest of the council so they could go about their business. It struck the old veteran odd his old rival, Shimura Danzo, hadn't said a single word during the council meeting. _"What are you up to Danzo?..."_

**In an undisclosed location...**

Deep underground, in one of Orochimaru's old bunkers, Danzo and a squad of his Root agents were scheming the future of Konohagakure. It was common knowledge, at least to the council, Dazno was gunning for the Hokage Hat in order to make the village the powerhouse it was always meant to be. The times of peace made the village weak in his eyes and the fact they needed allies was proof of that. If it were up to him, Suna would bow to them as would the other nations, but no! Much like the Sandaime, the old war hawk had fought in every one of the Shinobi World Wars and lived to talk about it. He worked to spread his influence in the shadows of the shinobi world and became the Shinobi no Yami (Darkness of the Shinobi).

"You 6 are tasked with finding that fool Jiraiya and retrieving the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki from him. I cannot allow this opportunity to slip by. With the Jinchuuriki out of Hiruzen's sight and control, the boy is prime to become the greatest tool in my arsenal. Once I have the power of the Kyuubi at my disposal, nothing will stop me from making Konoha the undisputed greatest nation in the world. Now go, Yuuwaka, your mission is the most important in this objective. You will seduce Jiraiya and separate him from the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki; do not fail me." Danzo commands. The six gathered Root agents bowed to their master and left via shunshin. _"Soon Hiruzen... Soon I will take my rightful place as Hokage of this once great nation."_

**Meanwhile with Jiraiya and company...**

Jiraiya, Tatsu, Tori and Naruto were currently in Yugakure (Village Hidden in Hot Water). Tori couldn't help but admire the cliff border that separated the small nation from Hi no Kuni (Fire Country). She could see the trees native to the lands she hadn't seen since her last life time. In her current lifetime, she could count the number of times she was in Hi no Kuni on one hand; once. Strapped to a baby harness on her back is baby Naruto, who was sleeping soundly, while Tatsu was out getting the supplies needed to care for a baby. She figured Jiraiya was at one of the Hot Springs the lands were famous for.

_"So why am I stuck doing all the shopping?"_ Tatsu asks his partner via their mental link. Tori could only sigh at the umpteenth time, _"Because I said so dammit! No stop bitchin' and get my Naru-chan diapers, baby food, clothes and anything else he may need."_ the bird masked woman could hear the dragon mask man sigh deeply.

_"This is why I waited until he was eight last time..."_ Tatsu sighs, but nonetheless continued to shop for supplies. A few hours go by and the group got two motel rooms to share, though Jiraiya hadn't returned from whatever he was doing. Unfortunately for the couple, mostly Tatsu, Naruto was restless. He would cry relentlessly, no food or begging would stop him. Tori seemed to glow with motherly love and patiently endured the baby's assaults. Leaving Tatsu stuck on diaper duty; he was surprised so much shit could come out of such a small child. Day one and he already filled two scrolls up! _"I miss eight year old Naruto... He was potty trained, could walk on his own, could feed himself and actually TELL me what the fuck was wrong with him! This is going to be a long life time..."_

Meanwhile, Jiraiya was just getting out of the springs with a satisfied grin on his face. "Truly the ladies in Yugakure are Goddess I say! Goddess, now to think of a title for the next edition of Icha Icha. Apollo and Amira-chan are still too young to be characters in their own edition; even though their escapades have made even a super pervert of my level blush." while he was musing with himself, the Toad Sage's senses suddenly were on high alert. Checking his surroundings, he realized he was in the Red Light District of Yugakure, even his subconscious was a pervert. More importantly, he got the feeling he was being watched, but in a good way. From one of the outside bar booths, a young woman with spiky, purple hair reaching down to her back, and blue eyes, and a shade of pink lipstick walks over to Jiraiya with a saucy strut.

"Um... You wouldn't happen to be Jiraiya of the Sannin would you?" the young woman asks coyly. The Toad Sage was liking where this was going, so doing his patented kabuki pose, "I see my fame has reached even the citizens of Yugakure. Yes I am the gallivant, the awesome, the legendary Jiraiya!" summoning a huge toad to add to his already awesome pose. The young woman's eyes were gleaming in awe and the Toad Sage just knew he was getting in them jeans tonight!

"Oh wow I can't believe it! You're a hero in many lands, this has to the best day of my life! Say if you're not too busy, I'd like to get to know you on a more... **Personal** level." the young woman says with a wink and grabs Jiraiya by the hand and leads him to her motel room. The Toad Sage didn't stand a chance as he drools and scopes every inch of the young woman's body. She was clearly in her early twenties, which made her legit and her body was perfectly curved in all the right places. Tonight was going to be grand!

Outside of Yugakure, four of the six man team were currently waiting for the member they sent to locate Naruto. The only description they had were he had whisker marks on his cheek and the only reason they knew that was due to Danzo's extensive records on anything remotely relating to Bijuu and Jinchuuriki. According to his records, the Kinkaku Brothers once tried to capture the Kyuubi for Kumogakure, but were eaten for their troubles. For weeks they survived by eating the insides of the beast and when it threw them up, they became Pseudo-Jinchuuriki and were known for their trademark whisker marks. Soon the agent returned with the blonde baby's location.

"He is located in a motel not far from the hot springs. It seems he is being cared for by two unknown individuals. They wear masks I've never seen among Konoha's Anbu." the Root agent states. The group of four discuss their plan of action and decide that with their numbers and skills they could handle the two unknowns. With their plans made, the group of five enter the village and take to the shadows of buildings, and light poles to keep themselves hidden. Once they reach the motel, two covered the exit windows, one waited in the hallways and the last two burst down the door!

"Hand over the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki and your deaths will be swift." the lead Root agent demands as Tatsu and Tori take defensive positions. Naruto awakens from his sleep and begins to wail, much to the ire of Tatsu. "You temes, you woke up the baby! Do you have any idea how **LONG** it took to put that kid to sleep!? Freaking sleep genjutsus didn't even work on him!" even Tori was upset as she drew her Daito.

Boar (I), Dog (Inu), Bird (Tori), Monkey (Saru), Ram (Hitsuji)! _"Summoning jutsu (Kuchiyose no jutsu)!"_ Apollo chants mentally and slams his hands on the ground. A plume of smoke erupts in the room and the Root agents pepper the smokescreen with kunai and shuriken. The sounds of metal hitting metal alerts them their first assault was deflected. Once the smoke clears, a Chameleon hangs off of Tatsu's arm, its entire body just about the size of his arm.

"Pasuteru, take Naruto-kun back to Soraryuu no Dezaato (Desert of the Sky Dragons). Don't return until I give the order to." Apollo whispers in its ear. Seeing the summoning beast, the two Root agents pull out there tantos and rush Tatsu, but Tori intercepts them and blocks their blades with her longer one. Pasuteru spits out his tongue and coils it around Naruto before both go up in smoke; reverse summoned back to Pasuteru's homelands. Forcing the two agents back, Tori regroups with Tatsu as he flashes through hand seals and embeds katon chakra to her Daito.

"Katon: Furaitofenikkusu (Fire Release: Phoenix in Flight)!" Tori declares, slamming her flaming blade on the ground and unleashes a pillar of blazing hot flames that destroys the room! Flaming debris scatters throughout the area as all the Root agents are forced to flee from the motel, least they burn with it. Even Tatsu has to use a Meiton: Shunshin (Dark Release: Body Flicker) to avoid being burned alive! _"Damn her and her katon ninjutsus, every town we go to she ends up burning something down to the ground!"_ The occupants of the small motel flee in a panic as the owner comes running towards them.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" the owner screams, his precious motel was being destroyed after all. Tori had to give the guy credit, surely he knew this was the WORST place to be at the moment, but she could sense her enemies were near. "Here take this, it should cover all the damages and even renovate the place." handing him a scroll, she shoves him out of the way as several kunai embed right were he was. Just as one of the agents attempts to rush her, he is pierced through the heart with a flaming hand. Soon afterwards his body is burned from the inside out. The remaining four agents swiftly stab Tatsu with their tantos, only for him to burst into smoke.

"I see you've finally gotten your Ryuu Hoo (Dragon Fang) combat ready; your hand hasn't been charred like before." Tori states as Tatsu appears behind her, "Let me show you how much I've improved."

Dragon (Tatsu), Monkey (Saru), Tiger (Tora), Snake (Mi), Dog (Inu)! _"Katon: Ryuu Hoo (Fire Release: Dragon Fang)!"_ Tatsu chants, gathering large amounts of chakra into his hand, then igniting it with a plume of fire from his mouth. Thanks to the layer of chakra coating his hand, the flames crackle in his hand and dance wildly! Tori sheaths her Daito and pulls out her Wazikashi and unseals a fan from her hip. Two of the agents flash through hand seals,

"Juuha Shoo (Beast Tearing Palm)!" the lead agents roars, channeling futon chakra into his hand and swipes a slicing wave of wind. Only he doesn't stop at one and fires several in rapid succession.

"Katon: Hoosenka no jutsu (Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire jutsu)!" the other agents roars, creating volleys of small fireballs that combine with the Juuha Shoos, turning them into flaming arcs of sheering hot winds! Tatsu grabs a hold of Tori and uses the Doton: Moguragakure no jutsu (Earth Release: Hiding Like a Mole jutsu) to burrow underground to avoid the attack. _"Where the hell is Jiraiya?!"_

Meanwhile, Jiraiya was having the time of his life! The sexy young woman was currently riding him for all she was worth. Their bodies glistened in the dim lights as sweat dripped from them. He loved the feel of her breasts in his hands and the sounds of their sexes clashing into one. Her hair flails about wildly all adding to his brewing orgasm; man did he need this!

"I'm so close!" Jiraiya warns her, but the young woman either doesn't hear him or doesn't care for she rides him even harder. The Toad Sage could only close his eyes in anticipation as the moment of bliss rushes ever so closer, the young woman pulls a kunai from her hair and aims to stab the Sannin in the neck! Just as it plunges into his neck, the pillow takes the blow for him as the Toad Sage appears behind her.

"It's rude to not finish something you started you know. Especially since I wasn't done..." Jiraiya says coldly, his face having a dark shadow cast over it; giving him the most epic rape face. Pulling out white prayer beads, the Toad Sage wraps them around her wrists and ankles in a sexual pose as the beads shoot to the four corners of the room and anchor themselves in the wall via sealing arrays. Suddenly the beads turn red, "Sealing Release: Four Limbs Weighting Seal." the Root agent tries to struggle against the beads, but it proves futile. Taking his position on top of her, the Jiraiya plunges back inside her as the agent can't help but moan. Though he was normally against this sort of thing, he hadn't heard her say no or stop once, so he continued until he felt the sweet bliss of his climax; he had the decency to pull out.

Placing his hand on her forehead, "Kaeru Kaeru no jutsu (Turning into a Frog jutsu)!" channeling senjutsu chakra into her and turns her into a frog, but stops before she can turn to stone. Resealing the prayer beads, Jiraiya takes out a scroll and seals the frog agent in it for interrogation later done the line; and maybe a round two if he was honest with himself. _"I knew she was Root the minute she moaned and flashed me her tongue. Only Danzo-teme uses Juinjutsu like that, so his Root division is still active ay? I wonder who he got to make the seal for him, it's pretty complex; almost on par with Orochi-teme's. I'm sure I can break it in time though, especially since I have a subject to work on, but why was she... Naruto!" _without a second thought, the Toad Sage vanishes in a puff of smoke.

The battle between Tatsu, Tori and the Root agents was fierce! Another one of the agents met his death at Tatsu's Ryuu Hoo that was plunged into his gut when he was just a second slower than the dragon masked man. Of course, Tatsu didn't come out of it unscathed as the agent managed to cut his forearm in a deep gash. The two remaining agents unleashed katon-futon combination ninjutsu to keep Tori on her feet, but her on combinations seemed on even footing with theirs.

"Fuuton-Katon Kyoogyoo: Fenikkusugeiru (Wind-Fire Collaboration: Phoenix Gale)!" Tori chants, channeling futon chakra in her fan and embedding katon chakra into her blade. Swinging both in tandem, the bird masked woman unleashes a heat wave of blazing fire and gusting winds! The Root agents knew they couldn't counter in time, so they use Shunshin to evade as the blazing winds destroy what's left of the motel; much to the horror of the owner. Before he could bitch, Tori tosses an even bigger scroll at his head; what the man was doing sticking around was beyond her.

Winds begin to churn around Tori as her hair blows wildly. Seeing her channel large amounts of chakra, the Root agents rush her with their tantos at the ready! Just as the agents stab her she bursts in smoke and leaves a log with fire tags. There was no way for them to escape, with all the futon chakra saturating the air, though they still tried. When the tags ignited, they completely incinerated the last remaining Root agents; leaving charred bodies behind. Tori sighs deeply and stumbles a bit; she didn't have the reserves she once had and using several collaborations and embedding chakra through her weapons wasn't a Jonin skill for nothing. Appearing in a puff of smoke, Jiraiya charges up a Rasengan ready to drive it into the Root agents, only to see they were already dead.

"Too late Jiraiya-sensei... Too fucking late..." Tatsu says wearily. Tori sees the nasty wound on his arm bleeding heavily and pulls out medical gauze and healing ointment from one of her seals, cleans and wraps the wound and gives it a kiss for extra measure. Jiraiya rubs the back of his head nervously, clearly sensing the irritation in his spies.

"So... Eh where's Naruto-kun?" Jiraiya asks, not seeing the blonde child with them. He trusted that they hid him while they did battle; right?

"Seriously Jiraiya-sensei, I sent him to Soraryuu no Dezaato, in fact, PASUTERU!" Tatsu yells, on cue said chameleon appears in a plume of smoke with a giggling Naruto. Tori instantly snatched the baby up and cuddles her face with his, "My little Naru-chan! I'm so glad you had fun at Soraryuu no Dezaato, playing with Apollo-kun's reptiles! Maybe Mama will take you to Seisooken Ookoku (Kingdom in the Stratosphere) next time, would you like that? Huh my baby?" Naruto claps and giggles as Tori squeals in delight. Figuring they needed to get moving, in case of reinforcements, the group leave Yugakure and head for Kumogakure by leaping in the trees. After a few hours of travel, having to make frequent stops to care for Naruto, the group cross over into Shimo no Kuni. The once tree covered terrain takes on sheets of snow that crunches under their feet. Powder white crystals gently fall from the sky, giving the lands their famous name of Frost. Not properly dressed to trek through the new terrain, the group decide to stay at a hotel for the day to rest...

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And there's chapter 2! Remember to read and review and hope you enjoyed this edition!


	3. Artifical

Jiraiya: Ya know, I think you're one of the few people to really give me any credit. For the most part, fanfic writers write me the same way the author wrote me, as a goofy old pervert that gets his ass kicked a lot. I mean you got me laid dude!

LS67: Are you kidding me?! You're fucking Jiraiya, Toad Sage supreme! Why would you let civilian women beat on you? Or even kunoichi besides Tsunade? I mean you're a Master of a Spy Network, Master at Infiltration. Who would believe some civilians could put the beat down on you? Jonin and Anbu level kunoichi maybe and even then you could just Reverse Summon yourself to Mt. Myoboku; it's like the author forgot about Reverse Summoning or something. There will be more to come though!

Jiraiya: *Snivel* *Snivel* That was beautiful! I wish you owned us kid! You'd give me the respect I so deserve, but you don't.

* * *

"..." Speech

... Narration

_"..."_ Thoughts

"Bird (Tori), Boar (I), Dog (Inu), Dragon (Tatsu), Ox (Ushi), Tiger (Tora), Snake (Mi), Rat (Ne), Horse (Uma), Monkey (Saru), Hare (U), Ram (Hitsuji)" Hand seals

True Shinobi: Afterbirth

Act I: Birth of a Hero

* * *

Chapter 3: Artifical

It took the group four days to cross the Kaminari no Kuni (Lightning Country) border from Shimo no Kuni and if there was one thing learned from the trip, it was Phoenixes **hate** the cold! The snow covered ground and dead trees were replaced with mountain ranges with many thunderclouds blocking the tops from view. Lightning flashes every so often and thunderclaps roar, causing Naruto to cry from the sheer volume. Tori stopped to comfort him, rocking him and whispering coos in his ear. Seeing his partner so soft, so motherly was definitely a warm welcome to Tatsu; it had been years since he last saw her in this element.

Once Naruto calmed down and settled for just looking at the lightning flash and basking in the warmth Tori released from her body, the group continued their journey through the mountain ranges. Normally, they would climb the mountains and hop from peak to peak, but that was too dangerous with Naruto with them. Not to mention riding one of Tori's summons would send all kinds of red flags to the locals, who would then alert Kumogakure to their presence in their lands. So on foot they continued, until they came to one of the many rivers leading to the coastline.

It took an hour or two, but they finally made it to the coastline where a nice log cabin sits overlooking the beautiful ocean. Behind the cabin were several small mountains, compared to the mountains in the distance anyway. Outside, playing in the fields, was a little blonde haired girl. Her eyes were jade green and her idea of play was throwing blunted kunai at a man dressed in janitor's clothes, "They don't pay me enough for this..."

"Angel-chan, Roogan-kun we're back!" Tori calls, said girl stops her torment of the poor guy and races over to her adoptive family, "Amira-neechan, Apollo-niisan, Uncle Jiraiya and... Who's baby is that?" the blonde girl gives Naruto a once over, trying to gauge how this would work out. She wasn't going to let Hitler's dream baby come and take over her home.

"Angel-chan this is Naruto, he is Jiraiya-sensei's Godson and will be staying with us for the foreseeable future. Don't worry, he's not here to replace you or anything. It's our solemn hope you two will get along." Tatsu says, hoping they could have the same relationship they had in their previous lives. Angel doesn't seem convinced, "Yeah well... I'm still the cutest, right Uncle Jiraiya?" the Toad Sage was no match for Angel's wide-eyed, appealingly innocent gaze and caves in agreement. With a squeal of joy, the blonde girl goes inside the cabin.

Tori, Naruto, and Jiraiya follow her inside; the baby's wails told the bird masked teen he was hungry. Before Roogan could follow them, Tatsu took him to the side. "So how's her training going?" now some would say Angel was too young to begin kunoichi training, but Tatsu didn't really give a shit what some would say. Old enough to walk and talk, old enough to start training was his motto. Roogan sighs and runs a hand through his wavy brown hair, "She's doing a decent job really. Has a decent grasp on Chakra to the point she can do Leaf Concentration Practice for about an hour. Her true skills are in Shurikenjutsu and agility; my cuts can testify to her aim." rolling up his sleeve, Tatsu whistles at the number of cuts and scrapes on them, "A true heir to her clan. The Fuuma were well known throughout Amegakure and Hi no Kuni for their skill in weaponry. It was for that and more the clan was hunted and annihilated by Konohagakure; it was a sheer miracle her parents were able to get her to us before their deaths."

It was a truly sorrowful day for the young couple. Many clansmen of the Fuuma clan were among Jiraiya's best spies and friends of Tatsu and Tori. It was the very reason Konoha felt the clan was too much of a threat to be allowed to live; it was Tatsu's greatest regret in life. He felt somewhat responsible for the clan's massacre and vowed all Ne (Root) operatives would pay dearly. Roogan, sensing his friend's increasing gloom decided to change the atmosphere a bit.

"So I guess training Whiskers will be handled by us huh." Roogan says more than asks. It didn't take a genius to piece together Jiraiya had too many responsibilities to be able to train the boy as much as he would want. Tatsu's answer was a nod in the affirmative as the two enter the cabin. As far as the interior went, it was what one would expect from a log cabin; the only thing out of the ordinary were the heads of Ne hanging over the fireplace. Tatsu walks to the fireplace and adds to his collection as he admires them with sick glee.

Meanwhile, Tori goes about feeding Naruto with Angel watching. In truth, the blonde girl was waiting for her adoptive sister to start training her to use the Crane style of Taijutsu. It always amazed her to see the bird masked teen to move with such grace and not waste a single movement. Watching her battle was like watching a ballerina perform on a grand stage. Once Naruto was content and rocked to sleep, Angel took her chance and drags the teen to the backyard with barely contained excitement; Tori might as well have been a rag doll the way her body flailed about.

Mumbling about speedster two year olds, Tori assumes one of the katas of her style as Angel tries to mimic it, only to fall due to being imbalanced. The bird masked teen didn't even try to hide her amused giggles, much to the blonde girl's ire. Flailing around, the two year old attempts again with similar results. Tori stifles her giggling fits and instructs her little sister in the proper way to do the kata and how to practice staying in the position for extended periods.

Meanwhile, Jiraya was busy trying to decipher the complex Juuinjutsu over the Ne woman's tongue. In the back of the Toad Sage's mind, he was giggling due to the woman being butt ass naked, covered in paralyzing seals and a single comatose seal on her forehead. True, he could have put her clothes back on after the seals were placed, but where's the fun in that? The sheer complexity of the seal was astonishing even to him. It had security arrays, specific triggers and even had a fail safe that alerted the user whenever someone tried to break it. If someone tried, it would trigger a beacon that would activate an explosion seal; talk about paranoia! The only way to break the seal seemed to be the death of the one it was placed on; it was on par with the Hyuuga's Juuinjutsu!

"It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest if Danzo-teme had a Hyuuga Seal User make the damn thing. His influence in the village goes far too deep for my liking. I guess I could send Tatsu or Tori to locate some of his bases and try to limit however many agents he has. The risks would be them being captured and their connection to me being discovered; though it's highly unlikely. His first task would be to break the beacon connected to the seal without having it trigger the self-destruct seal. Problem being he wouldn't have any room for error. Taking out a notepad, the Toad Sage began to sketch the Juuinjutsu and then focused Fuuinjutsu chakra into his index finger as he inspected the seal for every seal placed in it.

His eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets when he discovered the sheer quantity of seals placed in the single Juuinjutsu. It had nearly quadruples of the same seals layered on top of each other and all without their being overlaps! It would take him weeks to write down all the seals his chakra was picking up and who knew how long before he could attempt to break it. Luckily, he would have help in doing so; Amira and more so Apollo were well on their way to being Seal Masters in their own rights.

While Tori and Angel trained and Jiraiya worked feverishly with the Juuinjutsu, Tatsu and Roogan trained in their respective arts with a now awake Naruto watching in innocent bewilderment. Tatsu worked on not only his strength, but chakra control all in one with his unorthodox training. He performed inverted push-ups with a tower of seven Kage Bunshins standing on his legs; it required precise chakra control to keep himself steady and maintain the Kage Bunshin at once.

"168, 169, 170, 171, 172..." Tatsu counted off as he continued his reps, sweating pouring off his body. Roogan was busy practicing his hand seal speed, since most of his jutsu required a lot of them. Roogan wasn't a spy like the others, though his job was vital to Jiraiya's operations. The young man was known as a Janitor-nin, which meant he was in charge of 'cleaning' the messes spies tended to make during missions. In layman's terms, he was a Body Eraser, making sure no traces were left. His job even went to the point he would have to wipe memories of individuals from certain people he erased; if the job called for it.

Rabbit (U), Boar (I), Bird (Tori), Dragon (Tatsu), Snake (Mi), Rat (Ne), Monkey (Saru), Snake (Mi), Tiger (Tora), Horse (Uma), Ox (Ushi), Tiger (Tora), Dog (Inu)! _Boiling Release: Body Erasing Method (Futton: Karada Shookyo Hoohoo)!"_ Roogan chants, expelling a stream of greenish vapor from his mouth at a rock formation. The corrosive vapors easily melt the rock formation into a smoldering puddle as it lingers in the air for a short time. Not satisfied with the execution, the young man went through the hand seals again and expels another Body Erasing Method to work on the speed and see how long the cloud will linger.

While some wouldn't understand the purpose of having Naruto watch them train, Tatsu knew that babies had keen minds as they were in vulnerable stages in their development. Babies have tiny telepathy, or they are able to read nonverbal ticks and body language to such a degree it can be considered mind reading. They have extreme eyesight, being able to pick up details an adult's brain would consider unimportant, hyper hearing, almost mutant metabolisms and of course mega minds!

At age three, Naruto will have three times more synapses than an adult in his prime; or 15,000 per neuron. Sure it sounds scientific, but to dumb it down, an infants ability to store, analyze and compare knowledge easily surpasses adult geniuses. If given the right knowledge at such a critical developing age, the blonde could be unstoppable!

It was one reason why Tatsu and Tori exposed Angel to their training in the hopes her megamind would naturally wish to acquire more and more knowledge; before their brains started to calm down like most people. In truth, the human brain isn't designed to keep this up and at around four or six, they'll lose most of these perks.

Once he completed 250 inverted push-ups, the eight Tatsus leap over to one of the nearby mountains and each start using Cliff Climbing Practice (Gake Nobori no Gyoo) to train more in strength and discipline. To make things more complex, they would switch arms every now and then. Three of the Kage Bunshin lose their grip and fall to their deaths as they go up in smoke. Feeling his strength begin to wean, Tatsu and his remaining clones race done the mountain.

Naruto giggles uncontrollable at all the marvels he was seeing. Unknown to anyone without the mind walking abilities of the Yamanaka, a spark of inspiration dawned in the blonde's eyes. His life as a shinobi was already underway thanks to this and many more exposures to the Shinobi Arts.

**Meanwhile, in Konohagakure...**

The Sandaime sat in his chair, finally having finished the mountains of paperwork brought to his desk. All death certificates were signed off, life insurances granted, building contracts were drafted, but the most important, the Uchiha clansmen had returned to the village. Looking out the window, the old war veteran gazes at the crippled village. Reconstruction was slow, considering funerals were just concluded and moral was at its lowest. Finally having sometime to think, the Sandaime ponders what could have went wrong.

_"Biwaka-chan... Your injuries were not caused by an out of control Kyuubi, it was clearly from a bladed weapon; most likely a kunai... Could someone have found out about Kushina-chan's pregnancy and knew about her seal weakening? All evidence points to it but who could have controlled a beast as powerful as the Kyuubi, during the battle I noticed its eyes seemed to change for a second. At one point its eyes looked dull and circular, then turned to slits; obvious signs of a genjutsu... Could the Uchiha have orchestrated the attack or at least known about_ it?" the Sandaime wonders darkly. Pulling out a file on all of the deceased, he looks over how many shinobi from clans in Konoha were lost.

Among the dead, 400 were Aburame, trying to drain the Kyuubi's chakra proved fatal to their insects and thus themselves. 445 were from Akimichi, 255 were from the Hyuuga clan, 200 from the Branch family and 55 from the Main family. 480 were from the Inuzuka, 820 were from the Kurama clan, nearly causing the clan to become extinct; the once large clan was reduced to one of the smallest clans in Konoha. 250 were from the Nara clan, 350 from the Sarutobi clan; a few tears were shed since his wife were among the dead. 600 were from the Shimaru clan, and 300 from the Yamanaka clan. Not a single member of the Uchiha were lost...

The Sandaime's brows crinkled as a shadow cast over his eyes. It wasn't looking good for the Uchiha and plans had to be made should his sensei, the Nidaime Hokage, fears come to fruition. The Nidaime always had a deep mistrust of the clan due to their Curse of Hatred. Could the clan be planning a coup de 'tat, was appointing them in charge of the Police Force only fostering more hate amongst the clan?

Not wanting to give up hope on the clan, the Sandaime decides to keep this to himself; at least for now. He was no fool, the only way to put his paranoia at rest was to investigate the situation. Pressing a button on his desk, "Momiji-chan, contact Uchiha Fugaku and tell him his presence is requested by me."

**Six years later...**

It was an unusually sunny day near the shoreline in Lightning Country and a six year old Naruto and eight year old Angel stare down each other in a 'superhuman' like state. Their senses are heightened to such an degree that each second felt like a century to them. They used their time to study one another as Tatsu and Roogan watch from the sideline.

Angel goes everything every she knew about Naruto from over the years. He had a natural talent for fuuinjutsu; something she remembered he took great pride in. She could only smile thinking about how excited he was when Tatsu and Jiraiya began teaching him the art of seals. He was taught the Shaolin Dragon Style, but was nowhere near mastering it; though, he was decent in its usage. Thanks to his insane charka levels, he had a talent for barrier ninjutsu and knew a few general jutsus like Kawarimi and Henge.

Naruto also analyzes his best friend and rival. He was eternally happy to have Angel in his life; she just brought so much fun and light into his life. Spending so much time with her and training with her gave him a great deal of insight on the blonde girl. For example, he knew she excelled in shurikenjutsu, she had recently developed her clan's Jinton (Swift Release) kekkai genkai and had a few ninjutsu that utilizes it. She was as flexible as a cat and superb chakra control for a girl her age. Finally, she was taught the Shaolin Crane Style and while not mastered, she was a natural for it.

Both children take their individual stances as they inch closer to one another. Then, in a flash, Angel rushes Naruto with the grace of a swan as she lashes out with a strike. Naruto blocks the strike, moves in at an angle, and moves to strike back at the blonde girl. In a blur of speed, Angel evades the blow and appears behind her blonde friend with another strike, this time the blow lands and hits him in the back of the head. Used to far worse hits, Naruto recovers and blocks Angel's follow up strike and places a seal tag on her arm that began to sizzle. Ripping the piece of paper off her and tossing it back at Naruto, both kids leap away as the tag explodes.

Meanwhile, Tori and the Ne Op, Aki, feed their chakra into the barrier that kept their location hidden from prying eyes. The barrier was a true work of art designed by Jiraiya himself. The barrier known as Kenjin no meshita ni kakure (Hiding Under the Sage's Eyes) has two functions to it. The first is to cloak all those inside the barrier from even the most skilled Senor-nin and the second is to cast a genjutsu to make it seem as if nothing is there in the first place. Jiraiya powers the barrier with Senjutsu every time he returns to check up on them, while Tori, Tatsu, Roogan and recently Aki powers it with their chakra once the Senjutsu is used up; each taking shifts to maintain the barrier.

Speaking of Aki, Jiraiya had her everlasting respect and love after freeing her from Danzo's Juuinjutsu. It took years for the violette to come to terms with all the violence and conditioning forced on her by the war hawk. It was only thanks to Tori and Naruto the woman was able to rediscover her humanity; though remnants of her conditioning still lingered. Thinking back to the days she was still a Danzo lapdog almost made her laugh, to think her head almost ended up over the fireplace...

**Flashback, six years ago...**

Aki woke up in a panic! All she could remember was failing her mission and falling to the Toad Sage. She blamed her body for giving into the old pervert, when she should have killed him. Not caring she was naked, the Ne Op stealthily made her through the cabin, making sure to avoid anyone who might have been in the home. Once made it into the living room, even she was shocked to see several of her fellow Ne Operative's heads over a roaring fire!

_"Danzo-sama will want to know of this... Whoever lives here must be hunting our division down and killing all they come across. This is most troubling, I must escape for now before I am added to...!"_ From her shadow, Tatsu slinks out and places his dagger at her neck, ready to slit her throat if she so much as breathed the wrong way.

"Now where do you think you're going, Ne bitch?" Tatsu asks darkly in her ear. Despite herself, a sliver of fear rocks her body, before she suppress it. Digging into his pocket, Tatsu pulls out a paralyzing seal tag, but before he can place it on her, Aki head butts him, causing him to slash her neck a bit, but freeing her from his grip. Not wasting anytime, the Ne Op races outside the cabin and makes a break for it. Having done many missions in Lightning Country, Aki knew where she was and how to return to Konohagakure.

"Tsk bitch please, you'll pay for cracking my mask..." Tatsu mocks as he flashes through hand seals. _"Hachūrui Naibu Keimusho (Reptile Internal_ _Prison)!"_ slamming his palms on the ground, a plume of smoke rises and out of it stands a 10 foot red two-legged Worm Lizard. Without saying a word, the long lizard slithers towards Aki at an alarming rate! The Ne Op dodges as best she can, but soon she is devoured by the worm lizard.

"Thanks Kirito, if you can try to have you White Blood Cell Clones not devour her and keep her out of your stomach acid." Tatsu says, rubbing the worm lizard's head affectionately. "If you say so Apollo-sama, I will see to it she stays alive. I must say I am surprised, most Ne Ops you face are killed without question; she must be special." a dark aura oozes off of Tatsu as he has to work to keep his fury inside.

"If it were up to me, the bitch would be added to my collection, but Jiraiya-sensei needs her alive. Something about breaking the Juinjutsu placed on her by Danzo-teme." Tatsu says darkly, not really caring about freeing the woman from her curse.

**Flashback ends...**

To this day, Tatsu didn't fully trust her, but he couldn't deny she was a valuable asset to the team. Whenever they decided to return to Konoha, her intel on Ne and their locations would add greatly to his collection. At first, Aki didn't understand the group at all. She could tell they were powerful individuals, but they freely displayed emotions such as love, kindness, anger, etc. It completely went against her teachings and greatly confused her. After two years of observing them, she finally had enough and demanded to know how could they call themselves shinobi when they broke its most sacred rule: A Shinobi never shows emotion.

It was Tori who answered her with an amused smile. She replied a Shinobi never shows emotion to the enemy, but when around those they love not showing emotions is a betrayal to them. If a squad can't show emotions to each other, how would they know when their teammate needed back up, or when to comfort them in their times of need? Most important of all, emotions are what drive humans and thus shinobi to greatness. She demonstrated this by showing Aki one of her most powerful Katon ninjutsu...

**Flashback, four years ago...**

"You actually expect me to believe that emotions are what makes you so strong?" Aki asked skeptically, not believing the bird masked teen for a second. Tori just nodded, "I do actually. It was my strong emotions for a certain someone that brought me here in the first place. I died once before, believing that was the end for me, but it was actually just the beginning. Not even death could dampen my emotions and it were those strong emotions that brought me back." Aki was stunned by her words. As a Ne Op, she was trained to detect lies through body language and she couldn't detect a single one; Tori honestly believed what she was saying.

"Look I'm familiar with Danzo's 'conditioning'. Believe it or not, Jiraiya-sensei managed to get the information from Orochimaru-teme before he defected. I understand that suppression was the key ideal taught to you. Well, I'm here to show you that it only hurts you. Allow me to show you my ultimate jutsu, designed to combat a shinobi's greatest weakness." Tori stated.

Bird, (Tori) Tiger (Tora), Snake (Mi), Rat (Ne), Dragon (Tatsu), Bird (Tori), Dog (Inu), Monkey (Saru), Dragon (Tatsu), Tiger (Tora), Bird (Tori), Horse (Uma), Tiger (Tora)! "Katon: Yami-en no senjō (Fire Release: Cleansing Darkness Flames)!" Tori chanted, before holding her hands, palms open, at Aki. Before she could ponder what was happening, a sheer cold crept through her body and she could feel her chakra leaving her! It was stunning to watch as both heat and chakra is gathered into Tori's body, before she fueled it with her own chakra and love.

"You're lucky ya know. Most of this jutsu's victims don't survive to learn what's happening. Allow me to explain, this jutsu is known as a genninjutsu. By controlling the heat around my opponent, I can inject my chakra into their bodies. From there, I convert all suppressed emotions in the brain into chakra and draw it out via body heat. I then use the gathered body heat and chakra to give me the boost needed and add my own chakra and love to do THIS!" Tori explained, before she manipulated the roaring flames surrounding her into the form of a raging Phoenix, that soared high into the sky and explodes. Sparks of fire rained down from the sky like meteors and crashed down on mountains and the ground, leaving magma in its wake.

Aki could only stare in awed fear at the magnitude of Tori's genninjutsu. The most chilling of all was that she felt... Lighter as if the darkness Danzo placed inside her had been cleansed by the flames and all her emotions came rushing out. Before she knew what was going on, she fell to her knees as tears fell down her face. All the pain, the suffering and anguish she felt came pouring out.

"Feels good doesn't it?" Tori asked, watching as the last of the fire rained down.

**Flashback ends...**

Aki had to admit, it did feel good; it felt better than anything in her life. Well, except maybe sex with Jiraiya. Thinking of the man who freed her of her curse of darkness brought a blush to her face. She didn't know when she developed feelings for the old pervert; in fact, she hated him for the longest time. He was a self proclaimed Super Pervert, a frequent voyeur and a show off. He was a joke by all shinobi standards and yet, he was loyal to his home. He was a firm believer in peace, he was caring; allowing Aki to walk around freely without a single obedience seal on her. He was strong, probably more so than Danzo himself and despite his age was no slouch in the sheets. The violette woman found herself reading his Icha Icha novels whenever she, begrudgingly, missed the Toad Sage and found that many of the tales must have been from his own life; since she recognized some of the moves he described.

"Fuuton: Ookina Kaze-hoo (Wind Release: Great Wind Gun)!" Naruto chants, shooting a compressed bullet of air at Angel, who nearly evaded being blown into the Cliffside, though the rock formation received a small hole through it. "It seems they're having fun." Tori couldn't help but giggle at her friend's observation. Feeling that the barrier had enough chakra to be sustained, they join Tatsu and Roogan in watching the two kids spar.

Both kids continued to lash at each other with well timed strikes and blocks. Angel had the advantage in speed, but Naruto's unpredictable movements kept her from landing any devastating blows. Much like a lizard moving at angels, Naruto made sure to never strike or move in straight lines, but more curved ones. Seeing that Taijutsu was getting her nowhere, Angel leaps away and tosses shuriken at the blonde Jinchuuriki, who uses a kunai to deflect as many as he can. A few manage to imbed themselves in his arm as he pulls them out, only to see Angel had threw more at him.

Naruto ducks under them and rushes Angel, only to trip over ninja wire tied to the shurkien in an elaborate pattern. Flashing through a few hand seals, "Raiton: Boruto-Hoo (Lightning Release: Bolt Gun)!" pointing her hand like a gun, she channels lightning chakra into her pointing finger and shoots out a streak of lightning at Naruto, who tried to dodge. Only the lightning traveled through the wire and hit him before he could escape the wired trap and zapped him painfully. Thinking quickly, the blonde boy kawarimi with a nearby rock and escapes as he regains his bearings. Angel charges up another Boruto-Hoo, while Naruto channels a Ookina Kaze-Hoo as they both fire at the same time. The wind based bullet dissipates the lightning based one and crashes against Angel, causing her to tumble across the ground for a bit before she regains her footing.

"That's enough." Roogan declares as the two blondes bow to one another and shake hands. "Not bad Naruto-kun, you've improved a little in using fuuton. Does that mean you've managed to generate a twister without cutting up your hand?" A few tick marks bulge from Naruto's head at the jab.

"You better believe it! In fact, tousan says I'm ready to start the next phase in my futon training! It's good to see you've come a ways in using Jinton; no more falling on your face or running into the mountain side." Naruto comments. Soon the two enter an intense glaring contest as wind met lightning in a battle for dominance. "Alright you two lovers, time to go hunt. Today you two are on the cycle so make sure to take barrier tags to keep yourselves hidden from any wandering shinobi." the blushes on the two blonde's faces made the older teens laugh.

Not wanting to stick around for additional teasing, the two leave in blurs of speed, heading for the border of Shimo no Kuni; Yak tended to migrate around those parts. Over the years, the group made it their business to monitor all of Kumogakure's patrols and knew them almost to a key. The barrier tags were linked to the one surrounding their home so it worked the same. Still, they used the map of Kumo's estimated patrol routes to avoid shinobi at all costs. At some point, it became a race between the two as Angel utilized her Jinton to keep the lead, while Naruto pumped as much chakra as he could into his legs to try and pass her. All the while, the two laughed and enjoyed the other's company; they brought the best out of each other.

Once they made it to their destination, the two blondes lowered their breathing and clung to mountain sides to keep hidden from their prey. They had not only seen the older teens hunt, but had hunted themselves so often that they didn't need to talk to one another. A mild form of telepath had been developed between the two; just the simplest of movements let them know what the other would do next. Angel twitched her throwing hand and Naruto knew that meant it was time to strike. Throwing kunai and shuriken at the same time, they peppered three Yak as the others tried to run away.

Leaping from their positions, the two blondes race after the Yak and take down three more before letting the others leave. Naruto began the process of sealing their game into scrolls as Angel made sure no one would stumble across them. Once Naruto was done, the two left the area as fast as they could back home.

Once they returned home, they saw everyone outside next to a roaring fire. Naruto smiled brightly at the sight of Jiraiya among them as he ran over to his Godfather, "Ero Senin!" giving him a big hug, the Toad Sage could only sigh in annoyance at the nickname. "I'll never get tired of hearing that nickname, Jiraiya-baka."

"And I'll never get tired of proving why I am the supreme ladies' man to you, Aki-hime. By the way, did you get my latest addition to Icha Icha?" Jiraiya asks with a perverse smile. The blush on her face gave him his answer, "If you mean Icha Icha: Eejento Murasaki Ai (Agent Violet Love) then yes. I see you took my advice and took out a lot of the comedic tones and added more of a romance theme to it. I'm sure females everywhere will appreciate it." a part of her was furious the perverted sage had made her a recurring character in his smut. Aka, the violette assassin had been sent to seduce Hero and kill him in the heat of the moment. Only to fall head over heels in love with him and join him in his journey to bring peace to the world. She feared Danzo might happen across the story and send Ne Ops after her, but couldn't deny it was flattering; especially the way she was portrayed. It wasn't the usual helpless woman only good for sex, she had character and even protected the passive Hero from harm as a kind of Angel of Death.

Soon the gang were enjoying the fruits of Angel and Naruto's hunt. Everyone pretended to ignore Aki subtly move closer to Jiraiya, until the Toad Sage had his arm wrapped around her and telling them all tales of his latest adventures. He told them of how he had located several bases of his former teammates and would need their help in hitting them all. One in particular caught his attention the most, since it seemed to still be active. He would have went himself, but figured his time was better spent keeping tabs on the man himself, who seemed to have joined some up and coming group. He didn't know much about them, not even their name, but he knew their uniform were black cloaks with red clouds on them.

"Well enough talk of business. We've got at least a week before we move out to Umi no Kuni (Land of Sea) and I'd rather spend that time catching up with you all. Aki-chan, why don't you warm the bed up for me while I get a status update on my Godson and Angel-chan." Jiraiya says. Aki huffs, but leaves anyway inside the cabin. Roogan, Tatsu and Tori spent the next few hours going over everything they trained the kids in since the last time he was there. By the end of it, he was truly impressed with their growth and decided to give them more to work on.

"Alright, I know Apollo-kun and the others have you all working on other things, but I'd like you to work on these in your spare time. For Angel-chan, I have some medical scrolls given to me by Tsunade herself; it was easy to annoy her into giving them up. For Naruto-kun, I have the next addition to fuuinjutsu scrolls; these will cover chakra suppression and gravity." Jiraiya states, handing each their new scrolls. With that taken care of, the Toad Sage makes his way inside for some personal time with his Agent Violet Love.

**One week later...**

"What do you mean we can't go with you?!" Angel and Naruto declare in fury! The elders of the group decided that they were too young to join them on the field as spies. "It's exactly as we said. You two are too young to be on the field with us. We may be faced with enemy shinobi and forced to kill; I'll be damned if I expose you to that so early." Tatsu's answer didn't seem to be good enough for the two blondes.

"We can handle anything you present us with! We know shinobi have to kill and have prepared for that for years now! We've been doing all this training so we could one day join you as spies for Uncle Jiraiya! If we're not ready now, then when will we be?" Angel asked, she wanted to prove all their training wasn't for nothing.

"That is enough you two. I was forced into Ne at the age of four and forced to kill at six. No amount of preparing can ever help you when it comes to your first kill. You two are trying to grow up too fast, enjoy your childhoods while you can; I'd give up anything to experience the joys of being a child." Aki states, showing a rare glimpse of emotion. The two blondes couldn't argue with the ex Ne, so reluctantly, decided to stay, but only if Aki would stay with them. Agreeing to their terms, they wave goodbye as the group of four leap towards Umi no Kuni.

Once they were out of Lightning Country, Tori summons four large Hummingbirds as the group hops on and rides them for faster travel. They soar through the skies as the terrain below them changes from snowy cliffs to thick forests and steam. Soon they reach Hi no Kuni and after hours of travel, land just outside the back forests of Konohagakure. They set up camp and allow the bird summons to rest back in their home.

"Alright, according to my intel, the Islands around Umi no Kuni have been plagued by 'spirits' that take civilians away and when they return, they are transformed into horrid creatures. I'm willing to bet these 'spirits' are either shinobi working with Orochimaru or the damn snake himself and the civilians are probably used as lab rats. Our mission will be to destroy the base and try to see what the snake is or was working on." Jiraiya explains as the group nods in affirmative. With their task given, they soon fall asleep to rest up for tomorrow.

Once they woke up, Tori resummoned their rides and made their way to Umi no Kuni, where they landed on one of the islands after flying for some hours. The town seemed deserted as every isolated themselves inside their homes. Gathering information out of the villagers proved to be futile as all outsiders were considered hostile. Deciding to spread themselves out a bit, all four of them made a few Kage Bunshin and had them search the nearby islands. With nothing else to go on, they grab a bite to eat at a local restaurant, until Jiraiya's face pales at what his clone found.

"That sick son of a bitch!" Jiraiya growls, appalled by the depravity of his former teammate. Sensing that whatever the clone found would not be good, Tori resummons her Hummingbirds and the group fly over to Haha Island, where Jiraiya's clone discovered a hidden base in the mountains. Thanks to the clone deactivating the traps inside the lab, the group walk through the halls and can see why Jiraiya was so pissed. In the halls on the walls were glass containers that had what appeared to be deformed fetuses floating inside them. They enter a room the glass containers seem to be leading them to and what Jiraiya saw belonged in a sci-fi movie. For inside a large vat was a carbon copy of younger Mitarashi Anko with the same yellow eyes as Orochimaru. Half her body was covered in wood, though it seemed to be slowly turning into flesh. Tori, Tatsu and Roogan quickly went about searching the computers for an data on the little girl and what they found truly sickened them.

"Beautiful isn't she?" a hissing voice asks. All present knew that voice all too well. From a hidden compartment, a pale skinned youth with spiky black hair and yellow slitted eyes walks forth. Though he had Orochimaru's voice and even his vile chakra, Jiraiya knew this poor soul was most likely being possessed by the teme's Hebi Shoji no jutsu. (Snake Possession)

"What the fuck is this Orochimaru, does your depravity know no bounds?!" Jiraiya yells, ready to drive a Rasengan down the possessed boy's throat. The possessed boy just chuckles, "Ku ku ku ku, oh Jiraiya-kun, have you no creativity? Surely with your lecherous behavior you can tell what's going on here. You see, I realize that I cannot truly achieve Immortality without someone by my side; an heir to my greatness so to speak." it was then the pieces started to piece themselves together.

"That's right, this marvel of a creation is my very own child! Created from my and Anko-chan's DNA, not to mention the DNA of the Shodai Hokage; I call her Akira IX." the possessed boy states with a mad laugh. Jiraiya charges up a Rasegan, Tatsu prepares a Dragon Fang, Tori embeds katon chakra into her blade and Roogan prepares a Body Erasing Method as the possessed boy seems unphased by the ensuing onslaught. Suddenly, the vat opens as Akira IX falls to the ground and sluggishly picks herself up. Looking around for, the young girl sees the group of four ready to pounce and cowers away from them.

"Tsk, perhaps I put too much hope in you. This is your father speaking Akira IX, these people are here to take you away and kill you due to your deformity. Strike them down before they get the chance." the possessed boy says, before he falls to the ground, dead; a small white snakes slithers out of his back and leaves. Akira IX gets to her feet and glares at the group, "Why?... Why does everyone always hate me? I didn't ask for this! I didn't ask to be born a freak! Mokuton: Sen'eijashu (Wood Release: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)!" Akira IX roars as her wooden arm splits and turns into dozens of wooden snakes that race towards the startled group!

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And done! Hope you all enjoy my little twist :) honestly I'm surprised no one else has thought of this. I mean Orochimaru has been rumored to do some fucked up experiments. I can totally see him doing something as fucked up as making an artificial child using his, Anko and the Shodai Hokage's DNA. What will happen next? Will they save this Akira IX from Orochimaru's clutches or will the spawn of Orochimaru prove too much for them? So far I only have 2 reviews, I'd like to see that change! Like my other works, I put a lot of thought into this and would like to get some feedback from you all! For every fan and alert I have, I should have at least one review; there's no reason those who read my story can't leave a review and tell me what they thought about it. I mean seriously, is a few reviews really too much to ask people?


	4. Spawn

LS67: And we're back with another addition to TS:RB! To the fan that recommended I change the title I thank you. When I came up with the title, I confused Afterbirth with being born again, so basically a rebirthing. Why I didn't just name it that in the first place I have no idea.

Jiraiya: Ay sometimes the fans are just as important as the author is. Without the fans, this story wouldn't be read. Anyone LS doesn't own Naruto or anything associated with him.

* * *

"..." Speech

... Narration

_"..."_ _Thoughts_

"Bird (Tori), Boar (I), Dog (Inu), Dragon (Tatsu), Ox (Ushi), Tiger (Tora), Snake (Mi), Rat (Ne), Horse (Uma), Monkey (Saru), Hare (U), Ram (Hitsuji)" Hand seals

True Shinobi: Rebirth

Act I: The Birth of a Hero

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Chapter 4: Spawn

"Mokuton: Sen'eijashu (Wood Release: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands)!" Akira IX roars as her wooden arm splits and turns into dozens of wooden snakes that race towards the startled group! She would be damned if she let anyone take her away to become breeding stock. She would rather put up with the cold glares from the scientist than being turned into Konoha's Mokuton breeding whore; her father told her all about the horrid village when he came to visit. She knew all about the perverted Sage and how he brainwashed women into being his personal sex toys.

The wooden snakes lash out towards the group, Roogan leaps ahead of and unleashes a stream of Body Erasing Method (Karada Shookyo Hoohoo) at them. The snakes, and Akira IX, hiss in pain as the corrosive vapors melt the wood and thus her arm. Seeing the distress, the Janitor-nin cancels his jutsu as Akira IX recoils her arm and holds the stump in pain. With incredible effort, her wooden hand reshapes itself.

"You... Konoha Scum! You'll never take me, I refuse to be your breeding whore! Mokuton: Mankai no iseki (Wood Release: Full Bloom Ruin)!" Akira IX chants slamming her wooden hand into the ground. The wood began to bury itself deep into the ground and the group can feel the ground beneath them tremble! From all around them, giant green flowers sprout and bloom in an instant, unleashing plumes of red pollen from their cores.

The pollen swiftly covers them, burning their flesh on contact and entering their lungs to choke them. Their eyes watered, they suffered from raspy coughing fits, and it felt like they were on fire! Akira IX smirks in triumph at her foes writhing in pain, that smirk is wiped off her face as they puff in smoke. From the high corners of the walls, the group of four hid trying to come up with an idea. The pollen still floated in the air, but didn't seem to be rising; thanks to their Kage Bunshin they knew what would happen should they get caught in the stuff.

"Listen to us Akira, we are not here to turn you into a breeder. We didn't even know you existed until now, all we want is to help you. My teammate is the best medic in the world, I'm sure she can help you with your... condition." Jiraiya says trying to reason with the raging girl. His statement only served to infuriate the girl more; how many times was she promised a cure? How many tests did they need to run, how many more probing would she have to endure?

"You must think I'm a dummy! Even my father's best medic-nins could do nothing to help me! My 'condition' as you put it, only got worse after each attempt! Besides, I know all about you Jiraiya the Whore Sage. Tousan explained how you go around brainwashing women to be your sex pawns!" Akira IX states in fury. The Toad Sage was appalled at how his ex teammate had described him and what he did for a living. He would never brainwash a woman; in his mind he didn't need to.

"Your tousan is lying to you-" Jiraiya starts, but Akira has had enough of talking. She unleashes another Wood Release: Hidden Shadow Snake Hands at them in an attempt to drag them down into her pollen trap. Making great use of Tree Climbing, the group evade the wooden snakes by running along the wall or blocking them with the blunt sides of their weapons; they feared harming the girl.

Akira IX was getting frustrated at how difficult it was to deal with the group. She was already low on chakra due to her reserves not being fully developed at her age and they had yet to attack her after they learned her wooden half was like her very skin. She couldn't understand what their goal was; she wasn't delusional enough to believe they couldn't take her away, so why weren't they? For as long as she could remember, Akira IX was led to believe if anyone found out about her Mokuton abilities that she would be captured or killed and the only way to have a life outside the lab was to purge the Shodai Hokage's DNA from her body.

Akira IX was told of her birth as soon as she could comprehend it. She was a product of In vitro fertilization using a woman named Anko's eggs, her father's sperm and incubated in a vat that simulated a woman's womb. Due to complications, the Shodai Hokage's DNA had to be added and thus her 'condition' was born. After she was stable enough to live, her older brother figure, Kabuto, began working on purging the Shodai's DNA from her, but it only seemed to get worst. It went from just her hand to the entire right side of her body and seemed to be spreading.

Soon, Akira IX couldn't keep her wooden snakes going, her snakes turned back into a hand and her arm retracted back to normal. Luckily for her, the pollen still perfumed the area in its thickness as the clone girl falls to her knees in exhaustion. Seeing an opportunity, "Tori give me some wind!" while Tatsu flashed through hand seals, Tori pulls out her iron fan. The bird masked teen channels fuuton chakra into it and whirls it in circular motions.

"Fuuton: Rasen Zefaa #Wind Release: Spiraling Zephyr#!" Tori chants, unleashing a spiraling gust of wind at the pollen. "Katon: Hoofu o moyashi #Fire Release: The Burning Ambition#!" Tatsu syncs his stream of yellow hot flames with Tori's tunneling winds.

"Konbijutsu Katon-Fuuton: Ryuu no Hayate #Collaboration Technique Fire-Wind Release: Dragon's Gale#!" Tatsu and Tori chant as one. The two opposing forces combine and form a twister of blazing hot flames, Akira IX could only stare in horror at what she believed to be her death. To her surprise, Roogan rushes into the pollen and rescues her just in time for the flaming twister to incinerate the pollen storm. As she watched her best jutsu go up in flames, Akira IX couldn't help but stare in awe; it truly looked like a festival of will-o-wisps floating about the lab.

Fearing the worst, Akira IX flails and screams, trying her best to get out of the Janitor-nin's grip, but to no prevail. "Easy there kid, I'm not going to do anything to ya." with that said, he drops her unceremoniously. Without a second thought, Akira IX fearfully crawls over to the monitor and, stealthily presses a security button.

"Akira-chan, please understand we mean you no harm; we only want to help." Tori says in a sweet voice. Akira IX just scoffs, "Yeah help yourselves... I don't understand why everyone is so obsessed with some dead guy's kekkei genkai anyway!" If she were honest with herself, even Kabuto and her father seemed more interested in her Mokuton than her. Whenever they were around they always asked about her condition, never how she felt or what she thought.

"Besides, at least two of you are wearing masks, how can I trust anything you say?" Akira IX asks with her arms crossed. Tori couldn't help but giggle at that; it seriously reminded her of when Naruto was being grumpy. Looking to her partner, Tatsu nods as they take off their masks to show their smiling faces. Akira IX couldn't deny the two teens were handsome/beautiful and felt strangely warm and safe around them. "You should consider yourself lucky, not many people get to see our faces."

"Yeah well... I still don't trust you..." Akira IX states, turning away from the group. Jiraiya sighs at her stubbornness and decides to add his two cents, "Yeah well that is your right as a person. It doesn't matter how you were born, the fact is, you're as real as the rest of us. You have thoughts, feelings, everything that makes someone human. I can say with the utmost confidence that everything your tousan told you was a lie. I don't brainwash people, though I can't say the same for him." Akira IX turns around and glares at the Toad Sage.

"Don't you **DARE** accuse my tousan of such actions! He's a great and powerful man, who loves me and everyone in his village!" Akira IX yells, until she covers her mouth at the information she let slip. Now Jiraiya was intrigued, since the last he knew, Orochimaru was a member of that mysterious group. "Is that so, if he loves you so much than where is he now? He didn't even think to leave you with some body guards or something?" at that Akira IX smiles setting off all kinds of warning bells in the groups' minds.

"That's where you're wrong Ero-jiji, I have eight body guards." Akira IX states. From secret compartments in the floor, eight figures rise from the lower levels. It's clear to the group that each of the figures are earlier attempts at producing a bearer of Mokuton; only these must have been why Akira was number nine. One figure #Akira I# was massive in size and bulking with muscle, with half of his face, his forearms, thighs were made of wood; while his back had wooden spikes jetting out of it. Figure two #Akira II# was a slim woman with the only thing off about her being her hair made of wood. Figure three #Akira III# had wooden teeth, nails and a few patches here and there. Figure four #Akira IV# was made entirely of wood from her head to her toes. Figure five #Akira V# had moss growing from the wooden areas on her body; the areas being her entire arms and where her intimates were.

Figure six #Akira VI# had a wooden neck and torso with a flower growing from her belly button. Figure seven and eight #Akira VII and Akira VIII# were twin sisters where one had the left side made of wood and the other had the right. "Allow me to introduce you to my older siblings." with a motion of her hands, the eight Akiras break into groups of two and rush one of the group of four!

Akiras I and II rushes Tatsu, who pulls out his daggers and assumes the Dragon Shaolin Taijutsu stance. Once the Akira I was in range, he thrusts his massive fist at Tatsu, who dodges expertly. Next thing he knew, wooden spikes rush towards him via Akira II's hair, though he manages to dodge those as well. The two Akiras make sure to keep him on the defensive as they continued their onslaught of Akira I trying to crush him under his fists and Akira II trying to impale him. _"Dammit, I don't want to kill these poor bastards, but I can't keep on doing not-"_ before he could finish his thought, Akira II managed to ensnare his foot, allowing Akira I to punch him with bone shattering force. Tatsu tumbles along the ground a few times until he rights himself and nearly avoids being impaled; though his arm receives a slash. Before he can recover, Akira I grapples him and begins to crush him in a bear hug. Thinking quickly through the pain, the dragon masked man uses the kawarimi to replace himself with a Stun tag from his pocket. The tag sends currents of electricity through her body, forcing her to release him.

"Alright fuck this shit." Tatsu says having enough of this. Performing the necessary hand seals, the dragon masked teen conjures a blazing Dragon Edge, then pulls out a long, slender, scroll and wields it like a Bo staff with his other hand. Once Akira I rushes him, with a legion of wooden tendrils behind her, Tatsu covers the distance between them and destroys any wooden tendrils in his way. Akira I recovers and attempts another hay marker aimed at his face, but the dragon masked teen ducks under it and slaps a Contract seal on her exposed chest.

Unraveling the scroll a bit, Tatsu twirls the scroll in his hands and strikes Akira I on the chest with the sheets of the scroll. To the shock of Akira IX, Akira I goes up in smoke and a seal is etched into the scroll. "Fuuinjutsu: Kuchiyose Meeka #Sealing Technique: Summoning Maker#."

Sealing the scroll away, Tatsu is unaware that Akira II has sent some of her wooden hair deep underground, while the rest goes on the offensive as the dragon masked teen utilizes the elusive defenses of his Dragon Taijutsu style to evade the wooden tendrils at every possible angle.

Suddenly, wooden tendrils sprout from the ground and snares his ankle. With her prey captured, Akira II lifts the masked teen up and slams him down repeatedly with enough force to leave craters. Lifting him in the air once more, she surrounds him with her wooden spiked hair and aims to impale him from all sides!

**Meanwhile with Jiraiya, Akira VII and Akira VIII...**

"Rasengan!" Jiraiya roars, driving his spiraling sphere into the tendrils sent his way by the twins Akira VII and Akira VIII. The sphere of destruction grinds the wooden tendrils into dust. Unlike Akira IX, these two don't seem effected when their wooden limbs are hit. The dust screen gives the Toad Sage just the right cover, "Gamayudan (Toad Oil Bullet)!" converting his chakra into an extremely stick oil and spits out a massive amount at the twins.

Both women dodge the stick oil and lash out with their wooden limbs, turning them into mallets and try to smash Jiraiya under the massive hammers. Showing surprising athletics, the Toad Sage backflip dodges the smashing mallets, "Gama Yumaku (Toad Slick Oil)!" from his mouth, a stream of slick oil shoots on the ground. Using the oil like a skateboard, the Toad Sage hops on and increases his speed drastically. Every time the twins try to hit him, he fires more slick oil and skates away from the attack.

Once they were in range, Jiraiya hops off his slick trail and dropkicks them both, causing them to rocket into the nearby wall. Before they can recover, the Toad Sage appears in front of them via Shunshin and uses Shikoku Fuuin (Finger Carving Seal) to concentrate chakra in his finger. Using delicate chakra control, he uses the heat from that to engrave a paralyze seal into the wooden halves of their bodies and slaps a comatose seal on their foreheads.

"Please forgive me for this ladies, I promise no more harm will come to you." Jiraiya says solemnly, never one to enjoy harming women; even artificial women. Looking at his spies and Janitor-nin, the Toad Sage decides to not interfere and watch to see what they will do.

**Meanwhile with Tori, Akira III and Akira IV...**

Tori and Akira IV were in an intense battle! The bird masked teen uses her blade to block Akira VI's wooden, enlarged, nails, which try to claw her face off. Using her free hand, Tori pulls out her iron fan and fans it wildly behind her, "Kamaitachi no jutsu (Sickle Weasel Technique)!" a gale of wind is conjured and envelopes Akira III. Inside the gale, the wooden women is assaulted by countless invisible blades, carving up her wooden body; only for her wounds to heal themselves. Kicking Akira Akira IV in the torso to gain some distance.

"Apollo-kun!" Tori calls, seeing the trouble her partner was in. Performing a few front flips over her foes, the bird masked teen uses a Shunshin to appear behind Akira II and embeds katon chakra into her blade, before she slashes off her hair before the wooden spikes could impale Tatsu.

"Thanks Amira-chan, I owe yet another favor." Tatsu thanks, having lost count of how many times Tori saved his ass. "Yes you do, I haven't forgotten the time we were fighting the Shingami and I damn near lost all my Phoenix fire saving your ass." the fight still sent chills down her spine. Much like with the Sannin against Hanzo, they were highly outmatched against the Shingami, but the God of Death was impressed with their skill and resolve and decided to give them their lives for a price.

Deciding now wasn't the time to go down memory lane, Tatsu pulls out another Contract seal and places it on Akira II, unseals his Bo scroll and uses the Summoning Maker on her as well. "You know, that's an effective way to handle these clones without killing them!"

With his foes taken care of, Tatsu decides to help Tori with her own, each one taking on one of the Akiras. Tatsu makes two Kage Bunshin and has them step out of his way while Akira IV unleashes a barrage of spikes at them. The Kage Bunshin dodge the assault and prepare for what Tatsu has planned.

Tatsu throws several kunai at the wooden woman, but they bounce right off her; though they succeed in gaining her attention. Meanwhile, Tori and Akira III continue their battle, or so it seems. In reality, Tori has placed the woman under a genjutsu and lures her towards Tatsu.

Once Akira IV is in position, the three Tatsus unleash streaks of Meiton chakra, "Fuuinjutsu-Meiton: Yami Haka Ga (Sealing-Darkness Release: The Tomb of Darkness)!" from all three of them, a pyramid made of Meiton surrounds the two Akiras. Akira IV tries to pry her way out, but upon contact, her chakra is drained. Even without touching it, her chakra was being drained and before long she passes out from chakra exhaustion. Dropping his prison, Tatsu places Contract seals on both Akiras and seals them inside his scroll. After that, he went over to Akira VII and Akira VIII and seals them away as well. Akira IX watches in worry as her siblings were being defeated one by one.

"If this is all the guard your tousan left you, then he clearly underestimates your value." Jiraiya says from behind her, startling the youngest of the clones. "Shut up Ero-jiji! My tousan loves me and figured my siblings could handle anything!" the Toad Sage just scoffs and pulls out a few photos to show the girl.

"You see those two kids? One is my Godson and the other is Tori and Tatsu's adoptive daughter. Right now, those two are at our home, being watched by someone of at least Jonin-level and protected by an S rank barrier ninjutsu of my own design; even that feels like it's not enough. Everyday I'm away from them, I worry all my efforts won't be enough. I'm sure Tori and Tatsu feel the same, which is why they usually don't leave their sides." Jiraiya explains, gaining the little girl's attention.

"Then why do you leave them? If you truly love them, why leave them for even a second?" Akira IX asks, wanting to know why she had to be left alone for months or even years at a time! It didn't seem fair, she loved her father and brother, but how could she feel loved when she rarely saw them in person? Seeing someone via video is much more different than in person.

"Only reason why Tori and Tatsu are here is because I didn't know if Orochimaru was here or not and I wanted to be safe. Otherwise, they'd be at home watching them. I have no excuse for why I don't see them as much as I'd want. My work keeps me pretty busy." Jiraiya says with a sigh, "You sound just like tousan... Are all the Sannin neglectful pricks?" the Toad Sage flinched under the truth of such words.

"Yeah well... Those three out there, trying to find ways to take down your siblings without killing them, they're not neglectful. Here just look at the pictures." Jiraiya instructs. Begrudgingly, Akira IX looks at the photos and sees the smiling faces of Amira, Apollo, Angel and Naruto. They all looked so happy in the photos, one they had party hats on, in another they were covered in food and another they looked like they were at a wedding in the mountains. The one thing that was constant were the smiles and looks of joy, it brought tears to her eyes.

Akira IX never had these moments, she never smiled, she never had parties. It didn't seem fair, what made those two kids better than her, "You could have that too ya know." Akira IX looked at Jiraiya like he was crazy. She would never have such happiness so long as she was cursed with the Shodai's DNA. Meanwhile, Roogan successfully had the other two tied in ninja wire so Tatsu could do his thing with them as well.

With her siblings defeated, Akira IX knew she was in deep trouble. She had no one to defend her from these people; hell the scientists weren't due back for another week tops! All she could do was cower in fear as the group approaches her.

"Geez kid, you make me feel like a kidnapper or something. We're not going to hurt you, hell we're not even going to take you away from this place." Roogan states with a shrug; who were they to take her away from where she felt safe? This truly shocked Akira IX, who dared to look up at them and saw no lies in their eyes. "R-really, you mean it?"

"Of course not honey. Honestly, it would mean the world to us if you came with us, but if you don't want to, then we'll leave you be." Tori says with a warm smile. In truth, she hated the thought of a child having to undergo experiments, testing and Kami knows what else, but she refused to take the girl away if she didn't want to go.

"Why would I go with you people? Especially after you killed my siblings!" Akira IX asks, thinking back to the photos she saw. She'd be lying if she said she didn't want that kind of happiness, instead of the hollow one she gets when her father and brother finally visits. "Well for one, you'll have a home with a nice warm bed instead of a cold metal table and vats of Kami knows what. For two, you'll have kids your age to play with and have some notion of a normal life. Lastly, you'll be able to develop precious bonds that will last a life time." all that sounded so tempting, but she couldn't betray her father; he was her only hope!

"Another thing, who said we killed your siblings? Hell we went out of our way to make sure we didn't; I simply sealed them inside this Summoning Scroll. Here, it's all yours." Tatsu says, unsealing the scroll and tossing it to Akira IX. "How do I free them?" Tatsu went over the basics of the Kuchiyose no jutsu and Akira IX did as told. She signed her name in blood, placed her palm print over it and did the hand seals to summon Akira I. Due to her already low reserves, she only had enough time to hug her sibling, make sure she was ok where ever she was, which she was, and sent her back before she suffered chakra exhaustion. With her siblings safe, she pondered Tori's words.

"I-I-I can't... I just can't go with you. This is my home, my life! Until I'm cured, I can never have those things." Akira IX cries, tears flowing from her face. Who was she to deserve such things, she was nothing but a freak of nature! What happened next truly shocked and confused the girl, Tori kneeled down and hugged her tenderly. It was the first time anyone, even her father, had hugged her; it felt so nice.

"You can have that and more right now. We don't care about your condition and we'll see to it that you're either cured or learn to control it as best you can. I can tell by your reaction you've never been hugged before. That in itself is truly sickening to me; you deserve to be hugged each and everyday for the burden placed upon you." Tori states, her blood boiling at the levels of neglect Orochimaru showed his own so called daughter; it reminded her of how Naruto was treated in their other life.

Akira IX didn't know what to do, "I don't want to be alone anymore... I don't want to be probed, stabbed, spliced or injected with funny stuff anymore... Please... Help me." It was strange to her how easy it was to ask these strangers for help. For so long she wanted someone to save her from this hell, to free her from the cage she knew her whole life. She always believed her father and brother would free her, but it seemed that would not happen. Even though her mind screamed to her this was some kind of trap, her heart told her to trust them.

Tori picks the young girl up and cradles her in her arms lovingly, "All you had to do was ask." next thing Akira IX knew, a giant hummingbird appeared out of plumes of smoke and carried them on its back. The hummingbird soared out of the lab and down the halls to the exit far faster than Akira ever could. This was it, the light at the end of the tunnel was steadily approaching and her heart raced every inch of the way.

Once they were finally outside, Akira IX closed her eyes at the intense light; it was her first time out of the dark lab. Once her eyes adjusted, she stared in awe at the islands below and the surrounding sea; it was the most beautiful sight she had ever seen in her life. Tori could only smile warmly at the girl's amazement, "Welcome to the Outside World."

Meanwhile inside the lab, Jiraiya, Tatsu and Roogan created as many Kage Bunshins as was safe for them and had them scout this and all the other labs that could be on the other islands; they traveled either by Toad, Reptile or Basan. The originals shifted through the files on the hard drives of the computers, breaking through all the securities and saving all the information into flash drives to look at later. It took a while, but once all the labs were raided for anything of value, they set explosive tags in each room and were picked up by one of Tori's hummingbirds. Once safe in the air, they set off a single tag in each lab and watched as all twelve of them blew up in a massive explosion! With their work completed, they made their way back home to introduce the newest member of their family, who couldn't wait to meet kids her own age.

Meanwhile in an undisclosed location, Orochimaru receives the memories from his henged Kage Bunshin and smirks with a hiss. "It seems Jiraiya-kun has stumbled upon my dirty little secret. I left enough bread crumbs for even a baka like him to find. Now I have eyes inside his base of operations and have found three new specimens that have sparked my interest, Kabuto!" the silver haired spy appears in a bow to his master, "Yes Orochimaru-sama?"

"I want you to gather as much intel as you can on a birded masked girl in her late teens named Amira, a dragon masked boy in his late teens named Apollo and a boy in his early teens named Roogan. Amira goes by the code name Tori and Apollo by the code name Tatsu, they appear to be quite skilled and may make excellent hosts." Orochimaru commands, licking his lips with his long tongue. Kabuto replies with a "Hai" and leaves to carry out his tasks. _"It seems Jiraiya-kun has found some diamonds in the rough. I can't wait to break their souls and take over their young bodies."_

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Orochimaru has his sights on Apollo and Amira! Will their knowledge of the possible future help them stop this madman, or will they be devoured by the white snake? What did he mean by eyes on the inside, could Akira IX be working for him or is she just another unknowing pawn in this sick man's game? Find out in the next chapter of True Shinobi: Rebirth! Remember to review if you want faster updates; same goes for True Shinobi. Reviews help me know people actually enjoy the story or that I need to tweak it a bit more, so review people! Let's break 2 reviews a chapter here!


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